As Simple As
by Deceptive Lies
Summary: When Shikamaru does a small favor for Naruto, the entire future of the Shinobi world is changed. Who knew something as simple as providing shelter could change everything? "There's no way I'm leaving you to sleep in the streets. You can stay with me, you damn troublesome blond." FemNarutoxShikamaru
1. First Day

The moment that 12 year old Shikamaru woke up that morning, he knew it was going to be a troublesome day. The sun pierced through his bedroom window, almost blinding him as he tried to open his eyes. _That's right, today's officially our first day as genin._ The day before, Shikamaru and the rest of team 10 passed their sensei's test; a disturbingly easy exam in which they had to capture Asuma sensei for a full ten seconds. Between his mastery of the shadow-binding technique, Ino's ability to enter sensei's mind, and Chōji's determination to earn a free barbecue dinner (which Asuma sensei wisely bribed them with if they were to win), it was quite simple to capture the jonin level ninja.

Shikamaru sighed, resigning himself to a day full of troublesome D Rank missions. He was especially not looking forward to Ino's screeching once she found out that D Rank's were more than just a horror story from her father, and that yes indeed, she would have to complete them also. Changing into his usual outfit, he strapped a kunai holster to his leg before leaving to meet his team at their assigned training ground.

Arriving at his destination, he realized he was the first one there, so he promptly dropped onto the soft grass and started to watch the clouds. As he observed the gentle moving, he began to think about his fellow teammates.

Asuma sensei was the only unknown, a man he had only been acquainted with for a single day. Yet Shikamaru wasn't a genius for nothing. Asuma sensei, while seemingly lazy with a plethora of vices, his love of horrible smelling cigarettes being the most obvious, was obviously a very strong ninja. His hunched over back and lethargic walk was calculated and precise, ready to turn into a proper fighting stance in a moments notice. His eyes, while squinted up and deceptively uncaring, were taking in all of his surroundings, carefully analyzing both the environment, and his new students. After the exam he made them do, which they passed frightfully easily, he made them do a series of drills: from running laps, to Taijutsu stances, to basic hand-signs. When all of that was over, he instructed Ino and Chōji to practice spars, while he took Shikamaru alone to challenge him to a game of shogi. That single game told Shikamaru all he needed to know about his sensei. The fact that he pulled Shikamaru alone to test him in a game of strategy, led the young Nara to believe that his sensei knew exactly who planned the entire capture during the exam. Asuma played the game carefully, making slow yet calculating moves, in an attempt to get a feel for Shikamaru's playing style. The Nara beat him quickly and ruthlessly, just wanting to get it over with so he can go back to cloud watching. Asuma sensei, while shocked at his easy defeat, took his loss well, and vowed to beat him the following day. Shikamaru decided that while troublesome, his sensei could have been a lot worse, such as the sensei for Team 8; a beautiful, but determined young woman wanting to make a name for herself as a new jonin.

Chōji, a pleasantly _large_ boy, has been his friend since the start of the academy. He was kind, thoughtful, and with the proper guidance could turn out to be a wonderful ninja. His clan abilities were the perfect support tool, and Shikamaru had no doubt that he would make a capable fighter, with the right motivation of course. As long as Shikamaru bribed him correctly, alternating between offering him food and reprieve from Ino's "I Love Sasuke" rants, he could coast through being a genin by not doing a single thing.

The only hurdle on his team that stopped him from truly being relaxed, is the blond haired menace: Ino. She was loud, annoying, and overall the most troublesome individual he had ever had the displeasure of knowing. When she wasn't forcing his "lazy ass to get up and do something", she was screeching like a banshee about her love for Sasuke. He would much rather have preferred a less troublesome female teammate, one who wasn't a complete fangirl. Someone like Hinata maybe. While she was utterly shy, and incapable of completing a sentence without stuttering, at least she wasn't obsessed over the Uchiha like the rest of his classmates were. Hell, even Naruto, the loudmouth blond who somehow took his title of dead last would have made a better alternative, _she_ actually _tried_ to be a capable ninja.

With that, the Nara's thoughts turned to the orange covered knucklehead. She was beyond troublesome, a prankster of her own right, and quite possibly, the worst student he has ever seen. Yet she passed the ninja exam when no one else believed she would. In a word, she was unpredictable. A complete enigma, and despite all the thought Shikamaru put in, she was almost impossible to solve. _Almost_. Shikamaru had no doubt that someday he would solve the puzzle that is the Uzumaki, not that he planned to spend enough time around the blond in order to observe her.

His thoughts on his fellow academy graduate were broken with the arrival of his team. "Come on Shikamaru! We are ninja now! Get your lazy ass up, it's time for our first mission!" Troublesome indeed.

* * *

Naruto Uzumaki was more excited than ever! She was finally a ninja! Pretty soon, she would learn all sorts of cool ninjutsu, like being able to shoot fire or make it rain lightning! With a hop, she locked the door of her apartment, and made her way down the stairs. After making a stop at Ichiraku Ramen for breakfast, she continued her way towards training field 7, where her team was meant to meet for their first ever mission.

As she walked towards the designated area, she thought about her team. Kakashi sensei was really weird, but also super powerful. Naruto could learn a lot of cool jutsu from him. Sakura was also on her team, a girl that Naruto has tried for years to befriend. Now that they were on the same team, they were sure to become close. And then there was the bastard: Sasuke Uchiha. The stupid teme had more arrogance then she had orange clothing, and that was an understatement. Whatever, soon Naruto would become so powerful, that she will easily beat her greatest rival. From then, everyone would be forced to recognize her as the strongest ninja ever, and give her the Hokage hat that she so desperately craved. Yes, she decided, it was a full thought out plan- a plan that was sure to succeed.

* * *

The rest of the day had Team 10 doing pointless missions, such as walking dogs, pulling weeds, and capturing a demon cat. When all of that troublesome work was done, Asuma sensei had them run though some practice drills. Making two solid clones, which Shikamaru learned was a jonin level technique, he split the three apart for one-on-one training. Ino and Chōji each went with a clone, presumably to work on Taijutsu again, while the real Asuma sensei stayed behind with him.

Pulling out a shogi board, Asuma gestured for Shikamaru to sit up from his position and join him. The Nara approached the board with a groan, annoyed that his cloud watching was once more interrupted. At least he wasn't forced to run through spars, he tried to keep physical exertion to a bare minimum. However, he was curious as to why he was not being trained with his fellow teammates. His damned curious mind wouldn't let it go, so with his usual bored drawl, he asked, "Why am I not being forced to spar with Chōji and Ino? Surely I could benefit from the same training." Now this was not asked because Shikamaru had any intention to exert physical maneuvers, oh no, on the contrary, he wanted to avoid such forms of exercise for as long as possible.

Asuma chuckled, a deep rumbling in his throat that the Nara was sure was damaged from excessive smoke by now. "You have a gifted mind Shikamaru. I might as well train your strengths, rather than waste time attempting to get you to do things that you obviously have no intention of doing."

"How troublesome." Shikamaru muttered. His sensei was right, of course. If he made him train in Taijutsu, the Nara had a plan that would force Chōji to do all of the labor, while he could rest and watch the clouds. By making him play shogi instead, Asuma was guaranteeing that Shikamaru at least did _some_ type of Shinobi training. It was all just such a drag.

This time, the Nara dragged out the game, making simple mistakes that would force him to fall behind, only to pull off an amazing strategy that will once again put him leagues ahead of his sensei. He was running proverbial circles around Asuma, giving him false hope, only to snatch it away. Creating holes in his defense which his sensei could take advantage of, only to lead him into a hidden trap. It was nothing short of brilliance.

To a curious onlooker, it would seem as if the two were evenly matched, no one being ahead of the other for long periods of time. However, to the two men who were playing, it was obvious as to who ruled the game. Shikamaru did this, not to purposely drag out the match, as he was quite ready to go home and sleep, but to get a feel for his sensei's playing style. The Nara Clan always believed that you can tell everything about your opponent, by how they played shogi. The match only confirmed everything that Shikamaru observed about the man a previous day. Asuma sensei was observant, which was troublesome since now the Nara will not be able to get away with everything that he originally planned. Annoying.

* * *

Naruto was _extremely_ ticked off. First, her damn sensei was 4 hours late to meet. Then, she had to deal with the pointlessness now known as D Rank missions. She thought being a real Shinobi meant going on super cool missions, like saving a princess or defeating an army of rogue pirates. Instead, she was forced to walk cranky old ladies down the street, and babysit snot nosed kids. Sasuke was absolutely no help during these missions, turning his nose at even the possibility of helping the elderly, or dealing with smelly infants. Sakura was no better, having gotten tired after their first mission.

By the end of the day, Naruto wanted nothing more then a bowl of hot ramen, her impressive stamina spent after making so many clones to help the missions. Trudging her way towards Ichiraku, she made sure to count the money in her trusty wallet gama-chan. A few bowls and a full belly later, Naruto happily made her way home, excited for the following day.

Thrusting her hand into her pocket to look for her key, she walked into her apartment building, only to trip over a suitcase. _What the…_

In the lobby of the building, lay two run down orange suitcases… suitcases that she recognized as her own. "Oh no… no no no." Running past the bags, she sprinted up the stairs to her apartment. Jamming her key into the lock, she realized it wouldn't fit. Someone had changed her lock. Slamming her fists on the door, she screamed in frustration.

"What in Kami's name is that racket!" A rickety old voice screamed. Turning to face the voice, Naruto practically yelled at her landlord, an elderly lady that was never fond of the blond jinchuriki.

"What the heck you old bat! Why did you change the lock? And why is my stuff in the lobby!"

The elder woman smirked terribly, "You are a ninja now, are you not? Therefor, in the eyes of the law, you are an adult, so Konoha is no longer obligated to cover your rent under the orphaned child laws. If you don't pay rent, you get kicked out, that's how it works."

"But I just became an adult yesterday!" Naruto screeched.

"And that's when rent was due. So, can you pay it or not?" The landlord asked, knowing quite well that the blond could not afford to keep the apartment.

Thinking hard, Naruto realized with a start that the old bat was right. The rent was in fact due the day before, and as a ninja of Konoha, she was no longer covered by the state. She also knew that there was no way she had enough to cover her rent. She had yet to get payed for her missions, and even if she did, they would barely cover basic living expenses; such as food and clothing. "No… I can't pay it." She spit out.

"Then get the hell out of my building, so that I can find someone who actually can."

Resigned to her fate, Naruto picked up her two cases, and left the building.

* * *

After the tiring day, Shikamaru was happy to go home. He was ready to plop down onto his bed, and sleep away his troubles and fatigue. As he slowly made his way towards his clan complex, he saw a small blur of orange in the corner of his sight. Turning, he realized it was Konoha's number 1 prankster, Naruto Uzumaki.

 _What the hell is she doing out here at this time of night?_ She was dragging behind her two beat-up orange suitcases. He could practically hear her teeth chattering from the cold. He should ignore her, he was going to ignore her honestly, but his damn curiosity once more got the best of him.

"Naruto. What are you doing?" He asked with a bored expression.

"Oh! Hey Shikamaru. Hehe, didn't see you there." She said nervously, her hand scratching the back of head.

"I see that. But what are you doing? And why do you have suitcases?" He asked once more, his suspicion growing with each passing second.

Naruto considered lying to the shadow user, and she would have, if it were anyone else asking her. But Shikamaru was always smarter then everyone. She noticed it early in the academy, while he was lazy and didn't care, there was no doubt that he was a genius, not that anyone else noticed it. Most people only saw him at a surface level, but Naruto knew through personal experience just how intelligent the Nara was; after all, he was the only one who noticed that she was illiterate. It was only thanks to his intervention that she was able to get the help she needed. The point was, he would easily see through her lie. She wasn't exactly skilled at deception.

Sighing, Naruto replied, "I couldn't pay the rent, so the old bat kicked me out." Despite only giving him a minimal answer, she could practically see as the young genius connected the dots.

 _She's an adult by law now, so Konoha is no longer responsible for paying her rent. By why kick her out so fast, she only became an adult yesterday? People have always treated her differently, calling her names and ignoring her. I wonder why… I'm missing something here. No matter, I shall find out soon enough._

"So where are you staying?" Shikamaru almost cursed himself for asking, he never could leave well enough alone.

Naruto shrugged, "There's a pretty nice bench a few blocks ahead. It should do for now."

Shikamaru's eyes widened, realizing exactly how grave her situation was. He quickly scrolled though everything he knew about the blond; she had no friends to speak of, no family, no one to put her up until she made enough money to afford her own place. He knew the words that were going to come out of his mouth next. _I shouldn't have to do this. Come on Shikamaru, she's obviously fine sleeping on a bench. You have no obligation to her… but what if something happens to her? She's a damn ninja, she's fine on her own. But it's cold out, could you live with yourself if she got sick? Damn conscious._

Sighing, Shikamaru approached her, and took one of the bags from her hand, "There's no way I'm leaving you to sleep in the streets. You can stay with me, you damn troublesome blond."

He had never seen anyone smile that wide before, tears threatening to fall from the corner of her eyes. _Damn me and my troublesome conscious._


	2. A New Home

Naruto couldn't help but glance at the lady genius beside her as they walked towards the Nara compound. His features gave nothing away, schooled into his usual bored look. His hunched shoulders drew her eyes towards the suitcase he was helping her drag along. _Why is he doing this for me?_ Naruto didn't dare to question it further, instead she simply took solace in the fact that now she had a place to stay.

" _This_ is where you live?!" Naruto exclaimed, gesturing towards the large compound with multiple homes, more then she could count, and the expanding forest surrounding it.

Shikamaru nodded, leading the blond past the gates, towards the center. Almost immediately, Naruto saw a large home, bigger and grander than the rest. It was beautiful, yet oddly simple, made from all types of wood.

"Come on. We're here."

In hindsight, Naruto should have assumed that Shikamaru had a large home. After all, he was the heir of a large and important clan, and she's fairly certain that Iruka sensei mentioned something about Shikamaru's dad being the jonin commander. Yet she did in fact forget just how wealthy the Nara was, he was not the type to brag about being part of an important clan, unlike the mutt Kiba or the uptight Hyūga the year above her.

"Hey Shikamaru… wait a second." Naruto softly called out to him, uncharacteristically nervous.

The Nara sighed, "What is it?"

"Um.." Naruto fidgeted, "Are you sure your parents will be ok with me staying here? I don't wanna cause any problems."

"You're troublesome, but my parents won't mind. My mom would probably love having another loud girl around." Shikamaru reluctantly revealed.

Naruto smiled, thankful at Shikamaru's attempt to comfort her. But she knew it wouldn't last long, it was only a matter of time before his parents kicked her out. After all- _who could love a monster?_

* * *

Shikamaru was cursing himself throughout the entire walk. Why- oh fucking why did he have to open up his mouth? It would have been just fine if he ignored the blond, as he initially planned to do. But his conscious had to rear its ugly head, once more reminding the boy of its existence. Yet as he threw a glance at the oddly silent Naruto, he noticed the small, genuine smile that adorned her face. He couldn't help but feel a tickle in his stomach, which was weird and out of place. Maybe he ate something expired?

After comforting the blond, he was not sure why he did so- he led her into his home. His mother Yoshino was in the kitchen, humming a song softly under her breathe, when she heard the door open. "Oh Shikamaru! Just in time for dinner."

"We'll be needing an extra plate." He answered.

Yoshino stopped what she was doing, and entered the main foyer, where she found her usually lone son standing beside an adorable young blond. _That's the Kyūbi Jinchuriki…_

"NARA SHIKAMARU! How dare you not tell me you made a new friend! Especially one as cute as her! Oh, I feel so unprepared." Yoshino cried out, before jumping to hug the shocked Naruto.

Shikamaru winced at the sheer volume of his mother, "Trust me, this wasn't exactly a planned affair."

Yoshino ignored her sons grumbling, and proceeded to coddle the young Uzumaki instead. "My dear, you are so beautiful! I am very angry that my son waited so long to introduce us!"

Naruto felt a blush spread across her cheek, unused to this sort of attention. "It's nice to meet you Mrs. Nara."

"Oh hush sweetie, call me Yoshino."

"O-okay Mrs.N- I mean Yoshino."

Yoshino glanced down at the bags that her son and Naruto were carrying, but wisely said nothing as she practically pushed Naruto into the kitchen. "Come on dear, you can help me carry out the dinner. I hope you like ramen."

Naruto's eyes practically twinkled, "RAMEN!"

Together, Naruto and Yoshino set up the dining table, even roping the tired Shikamaru into assisting them. Once the table was prepared, Yoshino turned to the blond, "Well my husband Shikaku should be home soon, how about you go and wash up for dinner. The bathroom is right through that hall."

Naruto beamed up at the Nara matriarch, "Thank you so much Mrs.N- Yoshino."

Yoshino smiled softly, "Of course dear, go on ahead."

The second Naruto entered the bathroom and was out of earshot, Yoshino turned to her son who was sprawled out on the couch. "Now what's going on?"

Shikamaru sighed before sitting up. He straightened his posture, and leveled his sight with his mother. This was a serious conversation, and he needed to get that across, "She was kicked out of her apartment. Since she's an adult now, legally at least, her rent is no longer payed for by the state. She couldn't afford it, so her landlord wasted no time kicking her out. When I found her, she was on her way to sleep on a bench in the middle of Main Street."

Yoshino's eye's widened at the story. _Of course they wouldn't put up with the jinchuriki, damn civilians can't tell the difference between a demon and a hero._ "You did the right thing my son. I'm really proud of you."

Shikamaru grumbled, laying back down on the couch, "I couldn't leave her to freeze to death."

Yoshino nodded, taking a seat beside her son, "It was the right call. If you didn't help her, I'm afraid no one would have."

"But why is that? Why does everyone hate her? I mean, sure she's a prankster, but Kiba is just as bad, yet no one treats _him_ like that." Shikamaru pointed out.

Yoshino grimaced, carefully thinking of an answer to tell her perceptive son, "It's complicated. Some people unfairly blame her for something out of her control."

"Troublesome." He muttered, his mind creating a hundred theories. "You know, she may be here for a while. She won't make enough money doing D-Ranks to afford an apartment alone."

Yoshino smiled at her son, "I know, it'll be nice having another girl around."

"I thought you would say that." Shikamaru smirked.

* * *

When Shikaku came home, his face did not betray his surprise at seeing the blond jinchuriki at his dinner table. "I don't believe we've met, call me Shikaku." He introduced himself, taking his seat at the table.

"Hello Shikaku. My name is Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto greeted softly, nervous at the intimidating looking jonin.

Shikaku, sensing her nerves, smiled warmly at the girl, "It's a pleasure seeing you here. Shikamaru never brings his friends around, especially not ones as pretty as you. See, I always knew that if my son tried hard enough, he could land himself a cute girlfriend."

Naruto and Shikamaru simultaneously blushed, "Dadddd." The young Nara groaned.

Yoshino and Shikaku chuckled at the children, before deciding to give them a reprieve by switching topics, "So how was your first day as Genin?"

"Troublesome" Shikamaru muttered.

"And what about you Naruto?" Shikaku asked his guest.

Naruto, who had already finished three bowls of ramen (to the surprise of the adults), grinned before launching into an account of her day. "So once we finally dropped off the grocery bags at the house, Kakashi sensei told us we were free to go. We have to meet up again tomorrow at training ground 7 at 8 in the morning, but something tells me that sensei will be late again."

Shikaku chuckled at that, "Ah yes, Kakashi is well known for his tardiness. But he's a strong ninja, you can learn a lot from him."

Naruto brightened up, "Really? He's that strong?"

This time, it was Shikamaru who answered, with his regular drawl, "Hatake Kakashi, also known as the Copy Cat ninja. He has memorized over a 1000 jutsu, is an A rank jonin, and is considered to be one of the best Shinobi currently in Konoha."

Amazement was clearly seen on Naruto's face, "How did you know that?"

Shikamaru shrugged, taking a sip from his bowl, "It was in the bingo book."

"And you just have that memorized?" She questioned, head tilting adorably to the side.

"I have many things memorized." He answered.

Right. She almost forgot. Shikamaru was a genius. It was easy to forget his sheer intellect, when he was just so damn lazy.

"Come on dear, let me show you to your room." Yoshino said to Naruto, seeing as they were done eating.

"My room?" Naruto questioned.

"Well of course dear! You didn't think I'll make you sleep on the couch? Your room is right next to Shikamaru's, that way you can help me wake up his lazy bum in the mornings."

Naruto giggled, following Yoshino out of the dining room and into what was now her new bedroom. "Uh.. Yoshino?"

"Yes dear?"

"Um… Why are you helping me?" Naruto asked, before hurriedly continuing, "It's just, most people wouldn't even think to put up with me."

Yoshino stared at the blond, _she has dealt with too much pain_. In that moment, Yoshino vowed that she would do whatever she possibly can to make Naruto happy. The girl was her daughter now, in all but blood, and she would be damned if anyone were to hurt her again.

Hugging Naruto, she replied, "You are a wonderful young woman, and I am more than happy to have you in my home, for as long as you need. Listen to me carefully Naruto, I don't want you to feel like you are a guest. The Nara home is now your home. Ok?"

Naruto's only reply was to hug her back tighter, a tear running down her eye.

* * *

As his wife left to show Naruto to her room, Shikaku turned to his face his son, "How about a game of shogi?"

Shikamaru grabbed the board, placing it on the now clean dinner table. Making the first move, his eyes never left the board as his father retaliated.

"Your mother seems to like her." Shikaku mentioned.

"That's what I was hoping for." Shikamaru revealed.

"I hope you know what you're doing. It won't be easy having her stay with us." Shikaku reminded him, not unkindly.

"I'm aware. Although I'm not sure as to why."

The elder Nara sighed, moving his piece out of a hidden trap his son tried maneuvering him into, "People always want someone to blame in the face of tragedy, Naruto is just an unfortunate scapegoat."

"Mother said something similar. People are blaming Naruto for things she has no control over."

"Yes, that is true."

"I don't suppose you can tell me the specifics."

Shikaku chuckled, "I'm afraid not."

Shikamaru sighed, laying down yet another trap for his father, "I thought so. I'll figure it out soon enough."

"I have no doubt my boy. Although I hope you are ready to deal with the consequences of your rash decision."

"I wasn't going to leave her to freeze to death." Shikamaru stated, a frown replacing his bored expression.

"I'm not saying you made the wrong choice; just a rash one. You are the heir of the Nara Clan, there will be many repercussions to your decision tonight. There are many political interests in your friend, and it would be in our best interest to make sure that her actions correspond with ours, lest someone attempt to take advantage of her loyalties."

Shikamaru caught on to his fathers meaning, his frown twisting into an irritated scowl, "She's under our protection now, the council will be idiotic if they tried anything against her."

"Is she though? Under our protection?" Shikaku asked, curious at how far his son was willing to go.

"As long as she is under the Nara roof, she is protected by the Nara Clan." Shikamaru stated adamantly.

Shikaku nodded, "Then as clan heir, it is your responsibility to make it clear to the rest of the family."

"I'll be sure to declare it at the next clan meeting."

"Good." Shikaku nodded, "Checkmate."

Shikamaru sighed, "Troublesome."

* * *

That night, Shikamaru had trouble trying to fall asleep. Instead he lay awake, his thoughts pondering over the orange clad blond. The conversation with his father was enlightening, but it only gave him more questions rather than answers. He knew that Naruto was in a bind, no one seemed to like her, and many times he would hear civilians call her a monster. But now, he was starting to understand just how far this hatred was rooted. Whatever secret that Naruto carried, a secret he knew his parents were aware of, but for whatever reason couldn't tell him, it made her _very_ important. His father hinted at political problems that could arise, meaning that the council had a vested interest in the Uzumaki. By giving her support under the Nara clan, Shikamaru had made a very precise and risky political move. It was like he was playing a game of shogi against the entirety of Konoha, but he was at a disadvantage. He had made the first move by welcoming the blond into his home, but he still didn't have all the pieces. _I'm missing something… Just what makes Naruto so important?_ If he were a lesser man, Shikamaru would have worried; however, besides the times he has played against his father, he had never lost a game.

A knock on the door jarred him from his thoughts. "Come in." He called out, siting up on his bed. The door opened slightly, a pajama clad Naruto awkwardly standing in the doorway.

"Hey, sorry to bother you."

Shikamaru gestured for her to come in, which she did, softly closing the door behind her so that they wouldn't wake anyone with their talking, "It's ok, I was already awake. What did you need?"

Naruto fidgeted, pulling at he finger anxiously as she took a seat on the bed next to him, "I just wanted to thank you. I don't know what would have happened to me if you didn't find me. And your family has been so nice, your mother especially, and I don't want to be a bother-"

"Naruto." He cut her off, "My family is glad to have you here, ok? I just did what anyone would have done."

"That's the thing though… No one would have done this for me; just you. I guess, I just wanted to thank you."

Shikamaru looked away uncomfortably, scratching the back of his head, "Anytime." He was shocked to realize that he actually meant it. Despite how troublesome the prankster is, he was in fact glad to help her. She was a very interesting study. He always did love puzzles.

Naruto's giggling cut off his thoughts. "What's so amusing?" He asked.

"It's nothing." She replied with a laugh, "It's just a week ago, we were barely acquaintances, now we are having late night talks in your bedroom."

Shikamaru started to blush red, "Well don't say it like that, you troublesome blond."

She looked at him, her head tilted and eyes squinted, examining his features, "You know, I really like your hair like this, it suits you."

Shikamaru ran his hand through his hair, realizing that Naruto hasn't really ever seen his hair down. "Thanks, I guess."

"Well, goodnight Shika." She lent forward, before jumping off his bed and sprinting out of the room. Shikamaru raised a hand to his cheek, a ghost print of lips imprinted into his mind forever. _At least she's interesting._


	3. A Friend Told Me

"Blondie is in position."

"Pinky is stationed at point B"

"Raven is in point C. The target is in my sights."

"Silver here. We move on three… one… two… three!"

At once, three Genin jumped out of their hidden positions in the bushes to pounce on their target. "A red ribbon is tied on the right ear, target confirmed." Kakashi announced, his voice oddly serious considering that he was referring to the capture of a cat.

"I hate that stupid cat, I hate that stupid cat, I hate that stupid cat." Naruto kept mumbling angrily, clutching the cat tightly. By the time they had reached the Hokage tower, Naruto was covered in scratches, all thanks to the evil demon cat.

The Hokage smiled kindly at the team as they turned in their mission report. Iruka sensei, having been blackmailed into helping the Hokage with his ever growing pile of paperwork, was also happy to see his former students. "So we have some new missions for you guys. You can water the fields, babysit triplets, weed the garden-"

"NO! That's it!" Naruto cried, interrupting the elder man, "We are ninja! We deserve some real missions! Not some stupid chores meant for children!"

"Naruto! You cant talk to the Hokage like that." Sakura hissed at the blond.

"I can talk to the old man however way I want! Come onnnnn, we need some better missions." Naruto begged.

"Do you even understand how missions are classified? You are Genin, which means you start out with D-rank missions-"

Naruto interrupted her old sensei, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. There are D-ranks for Genin, C for high Genin and Chunin, B for high Chunin and Jonin, A for Jonin and ANBU, and S for people on par with the Hokage himself. I had to listen to Shi- uhh, I mean I totally remember Iruka sensei lecturing us about it. Hehe." Naruto finished her rant awkwardly, hoping that no one noticed her slip up.

"Whose name were you about to say dobe?" Sasuke questioned, looking suspiciously at his loud teammate.

"Mind your own business teme! The point is, we deserve a better mission!" Naruto exclaimed, quickly turning the conversation back to the mission.

"Very well, Kakashi, do you think they're ready?" The Hokage asked.

Sasuke and Naruto turned to their sensei, their eyes pleading. Sakura on the other hand, looked away from her teammates. _I don't think we're ready for a C-Rank… What if we die? Should I say something? No- Sasuke would hate me forever_. Resolved in her decision, she steeled her expression, determined to do whatever it takes to win Sasuke's affection.

Kakashi spared no look at his students, instead answering, "They are."

The Hokage smiled, as Iruka sensei loudly disagreed with Kakashi's assessment. Ignoring the chunin completely, the Hokage passed the silver-haired jonin a scroll, "Very well. Congratulations team 7 for receiving your first C-Rank. The mission is an escort mission to the Land of Waves, it should last around two weeks."

"Oh oh oh! Who are we protecting? A princess? The fire Daimyo?" Naruto ranted excitedly, jumping up and down in glee.

"Ah look, here he comes." The Hokage announced, a wry smile covering his face.

The three Genin looked at the door expectedly, excited to meet their first ever client.

* * *

"He's a damn drunk! A foul mouthed, idiotic drunk! He had the audacity to call me a weak little boy! Me- a _weak_ little _boy_. That old geezer has some nerve, if Kakashi sensei didn't stop me, I would have showed him exactly why I'm a ninja!" Naruto narrated angrily, stabbing at her dinner.

Shikamaru sighed, well versed with Naruto's dramatics from their time together at the academy. Yoshino and Shikaku had a formal dinner tonight with the Hyūga clan, so they left Shikamaru and Naruto home alone for dinner. Thankfully, Yoshino had the sense to prepare the meal before she left. "Naruto, you said it yourself. The man was obviously drunk."

"That doesn't mean he can insult us! We are supposed to be protecting him, and instead he pisses us off?"

"Like you said, you're supposed to be protecting him. That means you can't kill the man."

Naruto groaned loudly, slamming her head down onto the table, "I thought C-Ranks were my chance at a really cool mission. Instead I have to protect some drunk bridge builder instead."

Shikamaru exhaled loudly, realizing that he would never be able to finish his dinner in peace if Naruto kept on ranting, "Think about it like this; it's your chance to leave Konoha for once. Land of Waves is really different from this village, you'll be able to meet all types of new people, even try different food."

"Really?" Naruto perked up immediately, "It's that different from Konoha?"

Shikamaru nodded, "It's not a Shinobi village. That means you'll probably be the only ninja there. It's really rare for Shinobi to ever originate from civilian cities, so the people will probably look up to you."

"Huh, so that's why the old geezer didn't hire someone from his own land."

"Exactly. There were no Shinobi to hire in the first place."

Naruto grinned at her lazy friend, "Thanks Shikamaru! Maybe this mission tomorrow won't be so bad after all!"

"What time are you scheduled to leave?" Shikmaru asked, taking a bite out of his chicken.

"Kakashi sensei said to meet at the gates at 10. I guess we aren't really in a rush." Naruto replied with a shrug.

"Have you packed yet?"

"Hehe, not necessarily. But really, how hard could it be?" She answered nervously.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at his new roommate, "So you're saying that you remember what a Shinobi is meant to pack for a standard C-rank?"

Naruto stammered, "Uh… of course I do! It was… umm… bandages?"

Shikamaru chuckled, discarding their plates in the sink, "Come on, I'll help you pack."

"Yay! Thanks Shika!" Naruto exclaimed, giving the boy a quick hug before darting to her room.

Shikamaru shook his head, following the energetic blond.

* * *

The following morning had Naruto practically skipping towards the village gates. After her talk with Shikamaru the night before, she felt a lot more excited about the mission. She was hoping to run into some bandits, or maybe even a Shinobi or two; that way she could kick their ass, and prove to her team just how strong of a ninja she actually was.

With her thoughts on strong Shinobi, her mind naturally drifted to her newly acquainted friend and roommate, Nara Shikamaru. They have been living together for just over a month, and in that short period of time, she had come to learn a lot about him. He was lazy-there was no doubt about that. He would spend all his energy into getting out of doing manual labor. However, despite his hatred for any physical exertion, he would _always_ help his mother when asked. If he was questioned about it, he would reply that it was less troublesome to just go along with whatever his mother says. Yet Naruto knew that he just wanted to be a good son to his mom.

Another thing that immediately stood out to her was his intelligence. While she always knew the boy was a genius, she never understood just how smart he was, until she started living with him. His strategies were unparalleled, and they could be found in everything that he did. Whether it be getting out of chores, or playing shogi with his father, his mind just worked at a level far beyond a normal persons. Naruto was starting to suspect that he had a much harder time shutting off his thoughts then one would expect.

His unrivaled genius brings her to her next, yet most shocking discovery; Shikamaru was a frightfully dangerous and talented Shinobi. While he wasn't as fast as her, nor as skilled at Taijutsu as some of their other classmates, his genius put him leagues above the rest of the Genin. She had watched him spar against his father a few times, before he tentatively asked her if she would like to join their training. At first, she thought it would be an easy fight. She was a brawler, used to taking punches and giving them back twice as hard. She never actually suspected Shikamaru to show any skill. What happened next was a blur. He ruthlessly attacked her, sending her into trap after trap, before catching her in his shadow.

His manipulation os the shadows was precise and deadly, able to catch multiple of her shadow clones in the process. The technique he used seemed so powerful, that Naruto had to ask Shikaku why she had never heard of such a deadly art before. After all, she's heard of the Sharingan, as well as the Hyūga's gentle fist. Shikaku chuckled when Naruto asked, amused and proud that the young girl found his clan techniques to be so effective. That's when he revealed something that would forever change her perception of the lazy clan heir, "The shadow manipulation technique is only as effective as the Shinobi who wields it. One may have incredible chakra reserves and elemental manipulation, but if he does not have the mind and intelligence needed to successfully utilize it, then the technique is useless. Shadow manipulation requires not only a lot of chakra, but also precise chakra control. The truth is, it's an extremely difficult technique to learn, and many people in our own clan don't ever fully learn it. You have only ever seen two people utilize it: Shikamaru and I. I'm the clan head, with over 20 years of Shinobi experience under my belt. I have learned through trial and error just how to tailor the technique to my attacks. Shikamaru, on the other hand, is a natural. He will never admit it, but manipulation of the shadows comes naturally to him; his mind building a 1000 strategies before the fight even begins. The boy is much _much_ better then I ever was at his age. In fact, I didn't have his level of skill until I was a chunin for a few years. Someday, Shikamaru will be the most devastatingly effective strategist and assassin Konoha has ever seen."

From that conversation onwards, Naruto has made the young Nara train with her each and every day, essentially hoping to accomplish two goals: 1) She wanted to learn as much as she can from the boy. He immediately noticed her less-than-perfect Taijutsu form, and set out to help her fix it so that it left less holes in her defense. 2) She wanted him to train more. Shikaku was by far the smartest man she ever knew (other than his son), and if even he believed that Shikamaru had potential, then Naruto would see to it that the Nara was as strong as he could possibly be. It was the least she could do.

And so together they trained. They never spent too long working out, since they each had their individual team trainings and missions, but Naruto made sure to drag him into a spar everyday. At times, she wondered why the lazy Nara would go along with her whims, but she figured that the genius had his own convoluted reasons for training with her. It didn't matter to her much; just as long as they got to spar.

In the last month or so, they have spared a total of 34 times. And in the last month or so, Naruto has been soundly defeated 34 times. Not that she wasn't getting better, because she was. Her Taijutsu has improved leaps and bounds, and her speed was now double from what it was in the academy. She had started to learn how to think and strategize before entering a fight, which has helped tremendously in the long run.

The problem was, as much as Naruto was improving, Shikamaru was as well. It was subtle, but she knew for a fact that the boy was much stronger physically then he claimed to be. Every time they spared, he put in the bare minimum effort needed to win, while Naruto went all out. She knew that he would have just let her win, if he thought he could actually get away with it. However, she early on threatened him that if he were to lose to her on purpose, then she would volunteer him to help his mother with more chores. Naruto supposed that she should be offended that the Nara wasn't going all out on her, preferring to lull her into traps rather then capturing her in his shadows. However, she also knew that with each time they spared, Shikamaru would have to try harder and harder to win. This made her feel infinitely times better.

If she had to guess, she would think that Shikamaru could beat even Sasuke, the rookie of the year, in a spar. While Sasuke was ultimately the better fighter, and the better at ninjutsu, Shikamaru's intelligence would ultimately triumph over the arrogant Uchiha. Although, that was just a guess, she wouldn't actually know until they sparred.

* * *

Arriving at the gates, Naruto realized she was the last one to appear. "Kakashi sensei is here early! WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT DID YOU DO TO OUR SENSEI!" She screeched.

"That's what I said." Sakura muttered quietly in agreement.

"Quite down dobe." Sasuke demanded, wincing at the high volume.

"Mah mah, Naruto chan we are on a mission. I couldn't possibly be late to that, right?" Kakashi sensei explained, his eyes doing that weird smile.

"You really are a loud brat." Tazuna muttered, taking another swig of his sake.

"What did you just call me you drunk geezer?" Naruto cried, her fist poised to fight.

"Naruto, please stop antagonizing our client." Kakashi said off-handedly, "Now, before we head out, all of you will show me what you packed in order to make sure that you didn't miss anything."

One-by-one, each of the Genin unpacked their bags, showing their sensei the items they have brought. Sakura's bag was completely by the book, nothing added, nothing left over. Sasuke was much the same, however he carried more weapons then the recommended amount. When it was Naruto's turn, Kakashi sensei looked over at her in surprise, "Is this all you brought?"

Naruto scratched the back of her head, "Yeah… A friend told me that it was better to travel lightly, especially if we're going long distances in unknown terrain. He said it was smarter to seal most of my stuff into storage scrolls, that way it's not as heavy, and I can carry more things. Do you know how much ramen I was able to fit into a single scroll! Enough to last as _least_ three weeks."

Kakashi smiled at his student, "Well, your _friend_ is really smart. He was right in his instruction. I see you packed more than the two weeks that this mission will take."

"Expect the unexpected right sensei? I mean- sure, this mission is _expected_ to take two weeks, but you never really know. My friend said it was better to pack for a month, just to be safe in the unexpected situation that we will be needed for longer." The blond explained, proud at her (Shikamaru's) forward thinking.

"You must introduce me to your friend some day, since he is once again correct. Now then, that we're all ready, let's go." Kakashi stated, leading the team past the gates.

"Since when did you have a friend Naruto?" Sakura asked in a somewhat cruel tone.

"Since a lazy deer decided that the troublesome fox required shelter." She answered cheekily, Kakashi thankfully not listening.

Sakura just stared at the other female, "You're really weird."

Naruto's only reply was to smile wider. Returning her attention to their client, Sakura asked, "Tazuna-San, if I may ask, why didn't you have any of your own village Shinobi protect you?"

Before the old drunk could answer, Naruto interjected, "That's because the Land of Waves is a civilian village, they don't have Shinobi like we do. As a hidden village, we produce and train Shinobi. It's actually very rare for a ninja to originate from civilian towns."

"Naruto is right. Land of Waves doesn't have Shinobi of it's own, so Tazuna was forced to ask for help from the closest hidden village." Kakashi explained, one eye trained at the unpredictable Uzumaki.

Sasuke shot a surprised look at the blond, "And how the hell did you know that dobe?"

Naruto laughed nervously, "Uh, my friend told me?"


	4. Political Plans

Shikamaru had come to the realization that perhaps the orange loving blond was more trouble than she was worth. For the last month he had been studying her; watching as she interacted with people and villagers. He took notice of her facial expressions, her mannerisms, and her over all attitude. He had come to a few solid conclusions: 1) She was more cheerful then any other person he had ever met. She never frowned, only seeing the positives no matter how dire the situation. 2) The girl had an unparalleled determination. No matter how many times he knocked her down, no matter how many loses she took, she would just get up, dust herself off, and cheerfully ask for a rematch. It was insane, it was crazy, and he respected her all the more for it. 3) Someday, she was going to be an incredible Shinobi. Her determination, work ethic, and raw talent would make her incredibly dangerous. She used a jonin level technique easily, creating multiple shadow clones without showing a hint of exhaustion. This chakra capacity that she had, coupled with her ambition, would propel her to the top. 4) She was going to make a damn fine Hokage.

Shikamaru remembered how back in the academy, Naruto used to scream at the top of her lungs how she would be the next Hokage. No one had ever believed her, rolling their eyes at her stupidity. After all, how could the dead last ever be Hokage? But the Nara has been watching her very carefully for the last month, even joining her in troublesome spars and training sessions in order to observe her more closely. He knew she was going to be powerful; she already had the charisma needed in abundance, she had a will of fire that burned brighter then anyone's he's ever seen, and if he played his cards right, she would have all the political backing she needed.

Shikamaru was playing a very dangerous game, and from the moment he invited the girl into his home, he had committed to it. By ensuring Naruto as Hokage, he was ensuring a very long and comfortable life for the Nara Clan, as they would be her official backers. He had a plan, a very dangerous and long plan. It would take every bit of his intelligence to pull this off, but once he did, the shinobi world will live in peace. He was planning for the long term, all for the future well being of Konoha. It was his move, and Shikmaru was making a risky gamble.

This was what brought the young heir to his current predicament, standing in front of the Nara Clan Elders. Shikaku stood near his son quietly, allowing for Shikamaru to lead the discussion. Clearing his throat, Shikamaru began, "As you are all aware of by now, Uzumaki Naruto has been living under our roof for the last month. It was my sole decision to invite her in, and I would also like to offer her our clans protection."

One of the elders spoke, "Are you sure of your decision. Offering one clan protection means that the clan will protect the girl as if she were one of our own. Her mistakes could cost us much, and in extreme circumstances, could even drag us into war."

Shikamaru smiled deviously, "Yes, however her achievements would also benefit us greatly."

"Are you willing to risk everything on this move?" Another elder asked inquisitively.

"I have weighed all of our choices, and have drawn up every outcome. The Nara clan has survived this long not due to strength, nor due to powerful members, but because of the fact that we have planned and foreseen every variable. Naruto has no current allies, no friends to speak of. If we move now, all we would be doing is ensuring the loyalty of Konoha's greatest weapon."

The elders eyes all widened, taking in the significance of the boys assessment, "Very well, we will trust in our future clan head, like the ancestors before us."

"I thank you all." Shikamaru bowed slightly to his family members, before exiting the room. He was swiftly followed out by his father.

"How did you find out?" Shikaku asked, not completely surprised at his sons antics.

"That Naruto housed the nine tails? It was quite easy, once I knew what I was looking for. Demons cannot be killed, and the only container strong enough to hold the Kyūbi is a human. Naruto is the only person in Konoha to be born on that day, and it perfectly explains the villagers treatment of her, as well as the councils vested interest in her." Shikamaru explained.

Shikaku nodded, "I assume you have a plan?"

Shikamaru gave his father a wry look, "Don't I always?"

Leaving his fathers side, Shikamaru went up to the roof of his home so that he could watch the clouds. He was very glad that the elders of his clan were unlike the other clans in Konoha. His clan was notoriously lazy and liberal, meaning that they had a certain amount of trust in the Clan head, as well as the heir. Shikamaru has proved himself to his Clan time and time again. While the rest of Konoha was blind to the success of the Nara heir, his clan recognized his sheer genius, and gave him the respect he deserved. This was the first time Shikamaru has addressed the elders in such a way, as it was his first move in the political shogi board. Despite his youth and inexperience, the elders recognized his plan for what it was, and as such, gave the heir the power he needed to accomplish his goals.

Shikamaru supposed that he felt bad about his manipulation. He was starting to like Naruto, truly. She was an odd friend to have, and frankly, her carrying the fox made her a hero in his eyes. But now that he knew the truth about her, he knew more then ever that she will need all the help and protection she could get. He feared that she could be used as a bartering tool, perhaps even sold off to marriage. Anyways, she wanted nothing more than to be Hokage, and receive the respect she deserved; Shikamaru could help her accomplish this. All of this strategizing and scheming was done to help the blond Uzumaki; but if he was able to help his clan in the process, then it was killing two birds with one stone. After all, it was his job as a Nara to ensure the best possible outcome.

* * *

Naruto was practically skipping as they walked to the Land of Waves. Her eyes were taking in the expanse of the forest, documenting each and every irregularity so that she can tell Shikamaru all about it when she got back. She was so busy taking in the sights, that she didn't even notice a random puddle in the middle of the road.

The team walked by it, the children and client not even suspecting anything to be amiss. Kakashi sensei however hung back, realizing the danger of an upcoming attack. Once the demon brothers were soundly defeated, Kakashi began to interrogate the old man. "Tazuna-San, the two ninja were obviously trying to kill you. Now tell the truth, why do they want you dead?"

Tazuna, fear covering his face, spilled the entire story; how the Land of Waves was taken over by Gatō, and how the bridge that he was building was their only hope. Kakashi was ready to turn around and head back to Konoha, when Naruto interrupted, "No way Kakashi sensei! They need our help! We can't just back out now!"

Sasuke nodded in agreement, while Sakura meekly hid in the background, not quite sure that they should be continuing this dangerous mission. After a rather grim display of strength and determination (Naruto cutting her hand open to let out the poison), Kakashi decided that the mission will go on.

"We will likely face more Shinobi. And the next one is sure to be a jonin." Kakashi warned his students, "If we are attacked by a ninja of this caliber, _you are not to get involved._ You will stay back and protect our client." Once the three Genin promised, they continued on with their journey.

* * *

With Naruto gone on a C-Rank mission, Shikamaru found a lot of extra time on his hands. He chose to use his new found free time to hang out with his old friend Chōji. It has been quite a while since they spent any time together outside of team training and missions.

Somehow, his planned solo dinner with his friend turned into a team outing (he blamed Ino and her damn eavesdropping). Sitting at a booth at their favorite barbecue restaurant, they patiently waited for their meals to arrive.

"Okay, I am officially sick of this!" Ino screeched.

Shikamaru winced, "What are you talking about this time Ino?"

"YOU! You've been weird and distant!" She exclaimed.

Shikamaru glanced at the other two members of the team, wanting to see if they agreed with the blonds assessment. Asuma smiled awkwardly, "Well… You _have_ been a little out of it lately."

Shikamaru thought back to the last few weeks. He supposed he _has_ been slightly distracted, especially since he found out about Naruto's little predicament. It took quite a lot of energy to come up with a plan to completely take over the political society of Konoha. "I've just been busy." He said vaguely.

"With what? What could _possibly_ make the all time lazy Nara so busy?" Ino asked sarcastically.

Seeing that he wasn't going to get out of this without answering, Shikamaru sighed, "Clan matters. Father has been giving me more responsibility as heir."

All three at the table looked at him in shock, "Shikaku is already training you to be the Clan head?" Asuma asked incredulously.

"But- I thought most people don't start getting trained for the position until they're at _least_ chunin." Ino revealed.

Shikmaru shrugged, "Father wants an early retirement. Knowing him, he just wants to push off all his work onto me so that he can spend the rest of his days playing shogi." Now, the Nara wasn't necessarily lying. Shikaku was in fact teaching him more of clan politics, however this had less to do with him wanting early retirement, and more with the fact that Shikamaru was essentially planning a political move so bold that the boy needed all the schooling he could possibly get.

"Huh, no wonder you haven't been around." Chōji remarked.

Shikamaru scratched the back of his head, "Yeah, sorry about that."

Asuma just lit another cigarette, "And here I thought that the reason you haven't been around was because of a girl."

Ino let out a loud laugh, "Yeah right! What kind of girl would ever like Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru's mind immediately went to the blonde Uzumaki that took up the room next to his, "Troublesome blonde."

* * *

After the attack by Zabuza left Kakashi immobile, team 7 was forced to stay with the bridge builder and his family as they waited for their sensei to heal. Naruto immediately got along with Tazuna's daughter Tsunami. Naruto quickly offered to help out the kind woman in the kitchen, aiding her in the preparation of dinner. As they chopped vegetables, the two girls exchanged stories of their individual villages. The peaceful atmosphere reminded Naruto of when she helps out Yoshino in the kitchen. She felt a slight pang in her chest, as she began to miss her home.

Naruto stilled as she realized what she just thought of. _Home._ She had just referred to the Nara compound as _home._ She's only lived there for a month, yet she already feels as though she has stayed there forever. The Nara's have become her family almost. Yoshino was exactly how she always pictured her mother to be like; kind, beautiful, and loving. Shikaku was slightly distant, but he was always there at dinner to listen to Naruto's stories with an amused smile. Shikamaru… well that was a hard one. He _definitely_ wasn't like a sibling, but she couldn't help but feel great affection towards him. If it weren't for his kindness that night, Naruto would have frozen to death on a bench in central Konoha.

"Naruto! Kakashi sensei is awake!" Sakura called from the top of the stairs. Naruto dropped her knife, before running towards the room where her sensei was resting.

"Ah, all of my cute little Genin are here now." Kakashi said with that weird eye smile of his.

"How are you feeling sensei?" Naruto asked.

"I've been in worse shape. Listen carefully, unfortunately Zabuza is alive." Kakashi informed them.

"WHAT!" Cried Sakura and Naruto. Kakashi explained how the Hunter-nin was actually Zabuza's accomplice, and how he had used senbon in order to fake his death.

"Does that mean he's going to come back and attack?" Naruto asked.

"He's pretty injured. He's not going to risk fighting until he's healed, which would take about a week. Thankfully, by then I should also be back to top fighting shape. This time, I'll be fighting Zabuza, while you three take care of the hunter-nin. That means more training!" Kakashi informed them.

Naruto and Sasuke smiled (well, Naruto smiled while Sasuke smirked), happy at the idea of learning something new.

* * *

"Damn sensei, promises us actual training, and instead forces us to climb trees." Naruto muttered angrily as she was blasted away from the tree once more. Running up the trunk, she made it four feet up before she was blasted away again. Looking to her side, she saw that Sasuke was doing no better. Gritting her teeth in anger, she tried again, only to be blasted away even further away.

"How come Sakura got it in the first try?" Naruto exclaimed.

Sasuke, panting slightly, replied, "She has less chakra then us moron. Obviously it would be a lot easier for her to control it."

Naruto grinned, "So what I'm hearing, is that we just have so much more chakra than Sakura? _Awesome_."

Sasuke rolled his eyes at his blond teammate, watching as she was able to make it another two steps higher before falling off. There was a small, yet undeniable change in the Uzumaki since they passed Kakashi-sensei's test. She was getting better, stronger, faster. Naruto Uzumaki, the dead last, was actually turning into a formidable Shinobi. Sasuke couldn't help but be jealous of the girls progress, angry that she seemed to grow while his strength stayed the same. Perhaps the dobe was a worthy rival after all.

* * *

Ino was suspicious. There was no way that Uncle Shikaku was _already_ training Shikamaru to be clan head. He was too young, and had just became a Genin. Plus, Shikamaru was the laziest ninja of all time, no way was he ready to take over a clan.

With determination and a steeled look in her eye, she approached her father; a man who has been friends with Shikaku for over 20 years. "Hey dad." Ino smiled sweetly as she entered her families flower shop.

"Hello Ino, how was your day?" Inoichi asked.

"Kind of crazy." Ino answered, taking a seat next to her father behind the counter, "You see, after our missions today, Asuma sensei took us out for barbecue. But Shikamaru has been acting really weird these last few days, seeming more out of it then normal. So when we asked him what's bothering him, he claimed that he's been busy because his dad was training him to be clan head! But that's impossible, since Shikamaru is _way_ too young to start that kind of training, right daddy?"

Inoichi looked at his daughter, sighing at her intrusiveness, "The Nara clan has always been different. Shikaku himself took the position of Clan Head when he was only 19, perhaps he's getting his son ready for the unlikely outcome that he would have to do the same."

"But still! Shikamaru is _twelve_. Surely you don't think he's mature enough to train so early?"

"Like I said, the Nara clan is special. Their members are extraordinarily intelligent, so they tend to start delving into political matters at a young age. While I wasn't aware that Shikaku was already preparing his heir, I can't say I'm surprised."

Ino's eyes widened in surprise, "You mean... Shikamaru really is training to lead the clan?"

Inoichi sighed, "Shikamaru is much smarter than you think Ino. If Shikaku is training him this early, then Shikamaru must be even more intelligent then we had originally assumed. You would do well to remember that."

* * *

Sakura was bored. Oh so utterly bored. She was guarding Tazuna alone as he built the bridge, since her other teammates were still trying to climb the tree. She wished that she hid the fact that she was able to do it so easily, since maybe then she could spend more time with her love, Sasuke. Instead, all she succeeded in was alienating herself from the Uchiha.

Sasuke barely spared her a glance during the entire mission, instead, his focus seemed to be on their blond teammate. Sakura clenched her fist in anger as she thought of the Uzumaki. Naruto was strong, much stronger then Sakura at least. She was improving leaps and bounds from their time in the academy, and worst of all, she seemed to hold Sasuke's attention most of the time. The blond will often goad the Uchiha into some meaningless argument, or even a spar. _Does she have a crush on Sasuke?_ Sakura was worried, she didn't know if she could compete with Naruto if she was in fact in love with Sasuke.

Quickly, Sakura snapped out of it. Sakura wouldn't lose Sasuke's love to anyone, especially not Naruto Uzumaki.


	5. Dinner and Comfort

Ino and the rest of Team 10 stood by the gates of the village, waiting impatiently for Sasuke to arrive. Ino had heard from Asuma-sensei that Team 7 was scheduled to come back today, and she was just _dying_ to see her romantic interest after so long apart. Sakura, her old-friend and romantic rival, was a step up from Ino, after all, Sakura and Sasuke were teammates, meaning they spent a lot of time together. Ino was going to make sure that she spent just as much time with the Uchiha. So she had come up with a plan; if Asuma-sensei invites the entire Team 7 out to barbecue, then Sasuke would be forced to attend as well. It was full-proof.

That is why, on this sun shining morning, she was standing at the gates waiting for her love to appear. It had taken a while to get her team to agree to her genius plan. Chōji was the quickest to agree, he quite liked Sasuke's orange loving teammate Naruto, and hadn't had anytime to spend with her since they graduated from the academy. Also, he was never one to turn down free barbecue. Getting Asuma-sensei's approval was quite tricky, however all it took from Ino was a promise to not mention Sasuke's name around him for an entire week, and he was ready to agree to this slightly concerning plan.

Shikamaru however, was the most difficult to convince. "It's too troublesome", he kept insisting. He wanted absolutely nothing to do with this entire affair, and it got to the point where Ino had to resort to blackmail; either Shikamaru agree, or she was going to let everyone in their graduating class know that the young Nara was already being groomed as Clan Heir. Now Shikamaru was quite the private person, and if everyone knew just how much influence he had within his clan, then his entire political plan would be ruined. So with a glare towards his troublesome teammate, he reluctantly agreed to dinner.

Soon enough, Team 7 was seen at a distance walking towards Konoha. Ino was practically bouncing in her spot, and the second that Sasuke crossed the threshold into Konoha, she pounced. Hugging him tightly she cried, "Sasuke I've missed you so much!"

Sakura, seeing her rival clinging onto her teammate, yelled back, "Get off of him Ino-pig!"

Everyone else just sweat-dropped at the sight, shuddering at the sight of fan girls. Naruto, finally noticing the presence of Team 10, beamed up in happiness. "Chōji! Shika! What's up guys?" She asked with a grin, walking towards them with her hands behind her head.

Shikamaru let out a small involuntary smile, one that did not escape the notice of the two nosy sensei's and his perceptive best friend, "Hey Uzumaki. Can't help but notice that the mission was longer then 2 weeks."

Naruto chuckled awkwardly, "Yeah… We sorta ran into a couple of complications." Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, but did not question his friend out loud. Instead, he turned his attention back towards the two bickering girls, and exasperated Uchiha.

Asuma-sensei looked back and forth between the strange blond, and his normally apathetic student. _Who was this girl, and what exactly is her relationship with Shikamaru?_

Kakashi kept his gaze on the Nara, laughing slightly to himself. _So this is Naruto's "friend". I never knew that she was friends with a Nara, but it's definitely him; after all, how else would the boy know how long the mission was scheduled for? This'll be interesting to watch._ The copy-cat ninja turned towards his fellow jonin, "So what brings you guys here?"

Asuma sighed, taking a long drag of his cigarette, "I got bribed by my fan-girl of a student. Feel like getting barbecue? After-all, it's a good team bonding experience."

Kakashi chuckled, "Consider this the debt re-payed for distracting Guy last week. The team is tired though from the mission, what about we grab dinner tomorrow?"

Asuma nodded in confirmation, "Sounds good." Then, louder, he announced, "Let's go Team 10. We'll have dinner with Kakashi's team tomorrow"

Sakura, in the middle of a tug-of-war game with Ino (using poor Sasuke as the rope), screamed, "I don't want to hang out with Ino pig!"

Kakashi just did his freaky eye smile thing, before replying, "Too bad pinky. We have a mission to report. Let's go."

* * *

After giving the Hokage the mission report, Naruto was absolutely exhausted. It's been a long month, and she was just ready to go home. _Home._ There it was again. Referring to the Nara compound as home was starting to become a regular thing in her mind. It was such a big thing for her, she never did have a home, not really. Just a small apartment that she only stopped by to sleep in. Never a home, and never a family.

So with a tired smile, Naruto entered the home of the main branch of the Nara clan. "Hello?" She called out, "Is anyone here?"

"Naruto! You're back!" Yoshino cried, sprinting from the kitchen and tackling the young blond in a hug. The blond let out a small smile, hugging back the Nara matriarch fiercely. "How was your mission?" She asked the genin, worried at the sheer length that it took for her to come back.

Naruto nervously scratched the back of her head, "Ah… well… it wasn't just an average C-Rank."

Yoshino felt her stomach drop, and smile slightly falter, "You're just in time for dinner, you can tell us as we eat."

Yoshino then ushered the Uzumaki into the dining room, where Shikaku and Shikamaru were both already sitting. She forced Naruto to take a seat, while she went to bring the dinner from the kitchen. "Hey guys!" Naruto exclaimed, a bright grin stretched across her face.

"Welcome back Naruto. I hope you had a pleasant mission?" Shikaku inquired.

Naruto chuckled nervously. She didn't know how her new care takers would take the information. After all, she had just partaken in a really dangerous B-Rank mission. Of course, there was also the small concerning factor that the only way she survived was by channeling the Kyuubi's chakra.

Before Naruto could answer, Yoshino exited the kitchen, "Shikamaru told us that you arrived today, so I decided to make your favorite."

"RAMEN!" Naruto cried, drooling at the sight of her favorite dish.

Shikamaru chuckled at the blonds antics, his mirth clearly expressed in his eyes. As they ate the ramen, some more enthusiastically than others, Naruto narrated her mission, skimming some slightly important details. The three Nara's paid rapt attention, not even attempting to hide their interest or pretend to be sleeping. They asked questions at appropriate times, and Yoshino even shed a tear or two by the end. Once she completed her story, and they all finished their dinner, Naruto helped Yoshino clear the table before heading straight to bed, tired from the mission.

Just as Naruto was about to get into bed, a small knock came from her door. "Come in!" She called. Shikamaru opened the door slowly, before coming into the room, and silently closing the door behind him. "Hey."

"Hey Shika. What… what are you doing here?" Naruto asked awkwardly, noticing Shikamaru's grimace.

"I wanted to check up on you." He replied, his eyes looking everywhere but her.

Naruto fidgeted with the comforter, before taking a seat on her bed, "Uh why? We just had dinner."

Shikamaru sighed, obviously wanting nothing more than to run away from this room and conversation. The only thing that made him stay, was the look in her eyes earlier at dinner as she spoke of her enemies. "Naruto, it was your first _real_ mission. Your first real fight. And more importantly, the first time you ever witnessed the death of a friend. I guess, I just wanted to let you know that I'm here… if you wanted to talk that is."

Naruto stared up at the lazy ninja before her, her eyes misting slightly. With a slight hiccup, she confessed, "I shouldn't feel so bad. They were my enemies! They tried to kill us! But, every time I think of Zabuza and Haku, all I can see are potential friends, friends who died before there time. It wasn't their fault they attacked us! They were just doing a job! And they turned out to be the good guys in the end! Why'd they have to die like that… why?" By this point, Naruto was weeping freely, her voice painted with desperation and regret.

Shikamaru quickly sat on her bed beside her and took the blond into his arms. No word was uttered; there was no need. They sat like that for hours, Naruto crying into the Nara's arms, and the lazy ninja holding onto her as if he could singlehandedly cure her sadness; and maybe he could. Even when the tears were long gone, and the pain wore down, they didn't let go of one another.

The next morning, Yoshino went to wake Naruto up for breakfast, as she usually does. Instead of finding the girl alone, she finds her wrapped up in the arms of her usually apathetic son. The matriarch quickly ran to find a camera to capture this beautiful moment. Yoshino grinned at the sight, glad that the Uzumaki finally has a friend who truly cared for her.

* * *

The two teams sat in relative silence, as the sensei's of the genin were watching the inevitable train wreck that was sure to occur. Chōji was quiet, half his concentration on the menu that lay before him, and the other half on the blond Uzumaki. Ino and Sakura were glaring at each-other with venomous hatred from their seats on either side of Sasuke. The Uchiha, situated between the two fangirls, was staring pleadingly at his energetic blond teammate who sat directly in front of him. Naruto, completely oblivious to the desperation of her raven-haired rival, was much too busy chattering away to Shikamaru, who listened to her with rapt attention.

"And then Zabuza caught my kunai between his teeth, and ran towards the crowd of mercenaries! It was crazy! That's when Inari and the rest of the villagers showed up to help us. Gato's evil men ran away at the sight, and so the drunk old man was able to complete his bridge." Naruto ranted, narrating the mission once more with various inconsistencies. She had recovered much from the previous night, Shikamaru having comforted her until the point where she could talk of the two deceased ninja without feeling sad. Of course, waking up this morning in his arms was a heavy price to pay, in fact she was sure her blush was still noticeable even 12 hours later.

Shikamaru let a small smile creep onto his face, "So let me get this straight. You went on what was supposed to be a simple two-week long C-rank mission, and then watched as it turned into a B-rank month-long mission? And you didn't think at all to send for backup?"

Naruto grinned, her head nodding in confirmation, "Yeah, aren't we awesome?"

"Troublesome is what you are. Just absolutely troublesome." Shikamaru stated, shaking his head in fond exasperation. Naruto beamed, her grin stretched even wider then before.

"When the hell did you guys become such close friends?" Ino asked, momentarily halting her fierce staring match.

Shikamaru sighed, "We've always been friends Ino, or do you not recall the amount of times we skipped classes together."

Chōji stopped his scanning of the menu to look at his genius friend. It's true that the three of them, plus Kiba, would often cut classes together. It's also true that out of the entire graduating class, Naruto was probably closest to the three boys that she regularly found herself cutting class with. However, they weren't exactly friends. Not even close in all honesty. Naruto was probably friendlier with Kiba out of the bunch, since they were both energetic, and helped each other pull pranks. Chōji liked the blond a lot since she was the only girl who didn't care about his weight and would actually join in eating competitions with him. Frankly, out of the three of them, Naruto probably got along with Shikamaru the least. Not because of any actual reason, but just since Shikamaru was more of the quiet watch the clouds type, while Naruto was the loud and annoying type. They were friendly, but they were never friends. They simply just had nothing in common.

So to watch Naruto practically talk the usually unsocial Nara's ear off about some mission, which Chōji didn't even know they were on so how the hell did Shikamaru know, was quite a surprise to him. And Shikamaru was actually listening! Not once did he nod off during Naruto's entire story. And then for Shikamaru to claim that he and Naruto were actually friends? Something was going on.

"You're actually friends? With him?" Sasuke asked incredulously, looking between his blond rival and the lazy Nara.

Naruto huffed, crossing her arms in annoyance, "What's that supposed to mean Teme?"

Sasuke just smirked, "It just seems perfect: The two dead lasts, best friends. Fitting."

Naruto stuck her tongue out at the Uchiha, "You're just mad that Shikamaru has a better Clan technique."

Everyone grew silent, all staring at Naruto in varying levels of shock. "How the hell does a dobe like you even know what that means?"

"They taught it in the academy teme!" She taunted, sticking her tongue out.

"And what exactly do you know about my students Clan techniques?" Asuma sensei asked, leveling an inquiring stare at the blond.

Naruto grimaced, just realizing that she practically told everyone that she was intimately familiar with Shikamaru's fighting skills. Shikamaru- an apathetic ninja that _never_ showed his true skill during the academy.

"Uh… I saw his cousin Izumi use it on this perverted guy. She used her shadows to bind the guy to the floor while she beat him into a pulp. So if she, a normal branch member, could use this technique so awesomely, then surely the clan heir Nara would be so much better right?" Naruto defended.

The rest of the genin just nodded, accepting this answer. However, if they payed as close attention to her story as the sensei's obviously did, they would notice a couple inconsistencies: How did Naruto realize that Izumi used her shadow to bind the guy? How did she realize that shadow manipulation was a Nara Clan technique? How did she know Izumi was a Nara? How did Naruto know Izumi was Shikamaru's cousin? And the most pressing question, how did she know that the girls name was Izumi?

So while the majority of the genin just went back to their previous tasks, the sensei's were still staring at the Uzumaki. Shikamaru, aware of both the inconsistencies and the sensei's realizations, just sighed. "Naruto, you really are more troublesome then I thought."


	6. A Fast Learner

"Hey…" Naruto whispered, "Shika, wake up."

Shikamaru groaned, rolling over to the side, hoping to escape the energetic blond. "Shika… Come on wake up." Naruto once more whispered, shaking the young Nara.

Shikamaru sighed, his eyes opening a fraction to stare up at the orange-loving ninja, "What do you want Naru?"

Naruto beamed down at her friend, before hopping unto his bed and under his covers, "I was bored."

The Nara felt his eye twitch in anger, "You woke me up… because you were bored?"

Naruto sighed, before snuggling closer to the boy, "Kakashi is busy at a jonin meeting today. Sasuke is brooding, Sakura is watching him brood. Your dad is at the same meeting as Kakashi-sensei, and your mom is visiting her cousin across the village. So it's just us today."

Shikamaru, despite slowly getting accustomed to his surprisingly affectionate blond roommate, was _not_ in any way, shape, or form used to a pretty girl practically hugging him in his own bed, at least not while he was actually awake. He felt his blush rise as he glanced down at her. Her wide blue eyes, very very blue eyes, were watching him under her long blond eyelashes. Her hair, usually tied up into piggy tails, was much longer than he realized, falling down right past her waist. The whiskers on her cheeks twitched with the smile she sent him. Shikamaru gulped as he felt his blush grow even stronger while he processed his thoughts; he thought Naruto was pretty. _When the hell did that happen?!_

On some level, he guessed he always knew that the Uzumaki was pretty, but he had never really noticed before. Now though that she was hugging his arm and babbling about all the things that they should do today, he couldn't help but realize how truly beautiful his friend is. Huh. He usually was very perceptive, it was a wonder how he didn't realize this before. But then again, it's not like he had that much exposure to the girl before she suddenly moved in with him. He wondered if the others at the academy knew. Is that why the other girls, like Ino and Sakura didn't like her? Maybe that was why Kiba always insisted on Naruto joining them whenever they ditched class in the academy. In fact, now that he thought about it, Sasuke seemed to be rather annoyed at Shikamaru the other night at dinner. This was something for Shikamaru to ponder on later, preferably away from the energetic girl who slept down the hall.

"So Shika, what do _you_ want to do?" The subject of his thoughts asked.

"First we need breakfast. After that, what do you think about learning how to play Shogi?"

* * *

"This game is impossible." Naruto deadpanned.

Shikamaru chuckled, "It's not impossible. As long as you know the rules, you will be able to play."

"But that's under the assumption that I can actually _learn_ the rules. There are so many!" She complained.

"Come on Naru, I believe in you." Shikamaru said truthfully, an honest smile gracing his face.

Naruto stared at the Nara incredulously. _He believes in me. He actually believes that I, a dobe, can learn this impossible game._ A grin, larger than anything Shikamaru has ever seen spread across the Uzumaki's features.

"Tell me once more, what does this piece do?" Naruto asked, for the first time in a calm matter.

Shikamaru stared at her, wondering where all of her previous energy disappeared to. However, once he looked into her eyes, he saw the determination sparkling. _She's actually serious about this._

"So this is the _Silver General._ It can move one space forward or diagonally…"

* * *

Naruto, Shikamaru had learned, is _much_ more intelligent than anyone at the academy ever gave her credit for. With the right motivation, she could learn practically anything. The Nara learned this as he watched her pick up all the rules of shogi within the half hour. All it took for the girl to learn, was the right kind of teacher. This revelation, if utilized, would speed up Shikamaru's political agenda by quite some time.

"So, can I promote the _Gold General_?" Naruto asked, all of her attention on the board in front of her.

"That would be a no." He informed her, watching as she moved up her pawn one space. "Tell me Naru, why would I move my knight like this after your last move?" He asked her, hoping to stimulate some strategic thought.

Naruto mumbled, pinching her lips as she concentrated on the move Shikamaru just executed. The Nara stared at the blond, watching as she furrowed her brows. Observing her, he came to the conclusion that his musings this morning was in fact correct; Naruto was beautiful and there was no way the other guys in their class had yet to notice. Somehow, he had a feeling this revelation would come back to haunt him.

"You moved the knight, because you were trying to lead me into a trap?"

"Elaborate."

"Well, since you moved the knight, I would now be forced to move my lance, since you're in perfect position to capture it. But if I save my lance, your pawn will have the chance to capture my promoted bishop, which is a much more powerful piece."

"So now that you know this, what's your next move?"

"Well, I'll have to just sacrifice my lance in order to protect my promoted bishop. Instead I'll move this pawn forward so that it covers my Silver General from being captured by your rook."

Shikamaru smiled; Naruto really was a fast learner, and he planned to take full advantage of it. Konoha won't know what hit it.

* * *

Slurping down her ramen at her favorite stand, Naruto couldn't help but confirm something she's been wondering about over the last few days, "You know, don't you?"

Shikamaru swallowed his food, before turning to his unpredictable friend, "Huh?"

Naruto grimaced, her hand placed on her stomach, "You know about the monster. You know that I'm the container for the fox."

Placing down his bowl, Shikamaru sighed, "Yes, I do."

Naruto let out a pained smile, "I knew it. You're too smart to have not figured it out."

Shikamaru suddenly grasped Naruto's hand, forcing her to look up at him, "Naru, I've known for a while now. And it changes nothing. You're a hero. If it weren't for your strength, holding back the fox every day, and your sacrifices, we would all be screwed. It's one of the many reasons why I believe you would make a great Hokage."

The Uzumaki stared at her friend, tears welling up in her eyes, "You better believe it Shika. After all, how can I be Hokage if I don't have you as my advisor?"

"I'll hold you to that." The Nara smiled. _An advisor to the Hokage… Not a bad idea Naru, not a bad idea at all._

* * *

The jonin meeting concluded with relatively little fanfare, it was ultimately decided that all three rookie teams would qualify for the Chunin Exams, as well as Team 9. Shikaku waited until every last ninja filed out of the Hokage's office, before taking a seat in front of his leader.

"What would you like to speak to me about Shikaku?" The elder Hokage asked.

The Jonin Commander sighed, wishing for the hundredth time today that he had the foresight to force this part of the plan onto Shikamaru's shoulders. However, the Nara Clan Head had already promised his son that he would handle this aspect, despite him now regretting it deeply.

"It's about Naruto, Hokage-sama." He started, silently calculating how fast it would take for him to run out the window if needs be.

"Ah yes, of course. I was wondering how long it would take before you came to me about her. It was quite kind of you and your wife to take her in. Has she been causing you any problems?"

"No, nothing like that. I am actually here to speak to you on official clan business, as accordance to the 17th law of clan politics."

The Hokage narrowed his eyes, "Speak quickly. What do you mean by the 17th law?"

"The law states that I am to inform you of any major changes within the clan hierarchy or system as decreed by the heir apparent."

"And which major changes did the young Shikamaru make to the Nara clan? After all, the boy is but a young genin."

"Naruto, affective as of three weeks ago, is under the full political and legal protection of the Nara Clan."

"What do you mean by this Shikaku? What political agenda are you attempting to push forward?" The Hokage asked in unconcealed anger. He refused to let this young girl be a pawn in any clan games.

"I assure you Hokage-sama, this was all Shikamaru. He is the one who addressed the council and set the plans in motion. Even as Clan Head, I cannot go against the word of the Heir Apparent as long as he has the backing of the elder council, as I'm sure you are aware."

"Your clan doesn't even have the basis to fully sponsor the girl."

"In fact, we do. As according to the doctrine pertaining to sponsorship, outside of marrying into it, a Clan can sponsor a ninja as long as they have willingly lived under their roof for 60 days. Which she has as of today."

"And you expect me to believe a genin orchestrated all of this on his own? Shikamaru is a child, he doesn't yet understand the multiple political ramifications this move has!"

"I assure you Hokage-sama, Shikamaru is well aware of what he is doing."

* * *

"That cloud sort of looks like a bunny."

"It's obviously a duck."

"Are you blind Nara? It's a bunny!"

"Duck."

"Bunny!"

"Duck."

"BUNNY!"

"Duck."

A few moments of silence pass, "Shikamaru, are you trying to mess with me?"

The Nara chuckled, "Shinobi lesson #14, never take anything at face value."

Naruto grumbled, "Jerk." Shikamaru laughed some more, before returning his attention to the clouds above. Once he realized this morning just how intelligent Naruto could be in the right circumstances, he has been using every opportunity to teach her more about the ninja lifestyle. Incorporating small lessons in their banter seemed to be the best way to do that.

Soon their peace was disrupted, for the rubble beneath them started to move. "Naru, do you hear that?"

"What even is it?" She asked cautiously, standing up to see what was making the earth itself shake.

A few moments later, a sea of green crossed into their field of vision, "YOSH! IF I CANNOT WIN THIS RACE I SHALL DO 100 PUSHUPS ON MY HANDS!"

Before either of the two could fully process this absurd statement, the green monstrocity crashed directly into Naruto, sending her sprawling on her back, with a boy around their age laying on top of her. Naruto, still reeling from her fall, could only focus on one thing: _What the heck was up with this boys eyebrows?_ The boy was also quite distracted, staring at the girl he happened to fall on; _prettyyyy…_

Shikamaru however, was still in his right mind, and wasted no time in dragging the green clad boy off his friend. With a glare that would unsettle even the most battle hardened shinobi, Shikamaru asked, "Who the heck are you?"

"YOSH! HELLO FELLOW SHINOBI! I AM LEE! I APOLOGIZE GREATLY FOR CRASHING INTO YOUR BEAUTIFUL GIRLFRIEND! FOR MY TRANSGRESSIONS I WILL RACE AROUND KONOHA 10 TIMES WITH BOALDERS ATTATCHED TO MY FEET!" The boy, now known as Lee, screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Woah wait, she's not my girlfriend." Shikamaru felt the need to correct him.

"Hi Lee! I'm Naruto, this is Shikamaru. How did you convince those caterpillars to rest on your face and be your eyebrows?"

"YOU ARE QUITE FUNNY NARUTO-CHAN! SHIKAMARU IS LUCKY TO HAVE A GIRLFRIEND SO FULL OF YOUTH!"

Both Shikamaru and Naruto blushed, as the Nara replied, "She's really not my girlfriend."

"AH! I MUST FINISH THE RACE BEFORE MY YOUTHFUL TEAMMATES CATCH UP! GOODBYE NARUTO-CHAN! AND SHIKAMARU TAKE GOOD CARE OF YOUR GIRLFRIEND!"

"Again, not my girlfriend." Shikamaru sighed, as the enigmatic Lee ran towards the forest.

"You know, I actually quite like him." Naruto stated.

Shikamaru stared at her incredulously, "What's there to like about him? Plus, I have a feeling Lee's misunderstanding is going to come back and haunt us."

Naruto shrugged, returning to her laying position to watch the clouds, "Not like we'll ever see him again."

Shikamaru could only hope so, but somehow, he knew that this was only the beginning… Troublesome.

* * *

"No."

"Why not?"

"It's too troublesome."

"You say that about everything."

"Because everything is troublesome."

"Oh, come on! Please Shika!"

"Under one condition."

"Name it."

"Every day after our missions, you'll let me teach you some theory."

"But we learned that stuff in the academy!"

"You never even showed up to the academy."

"…Point taken. Fine, it's a deal."

And that was how Shikamaru was convinced to help Naruto prank the Hyuga Clan by painting all of their walls neon pink. While Naruto was wearing kill-me orange. And taking into consideration the byakuugan. Shikamaru was there, yet he still wasn't exactly certain on how the heck Naruto was able to pull off that stunt.

Now that he thought about it, Naruto has constantly been pranking and outrunning ANBU since she started the academy. Infiltration seems to be her greatest strong point. Couple that with her speed, enhanced senses and shadow clones. He wondered how Naruto would feel about becoming an assassination specialist…


	7. I Promise

It was a regular day for Team 7. The sun was beaming high in the sky, and the three genin were lounging in the training field waiting for their forever-late sensei. Naruto was leaning back on the trunk of the tree, smiling to herself as she thought of the previous day. Her and Shikamaru were able to spend the entire day together: from the moment she woke him up, to the moment they fell asleep together on her bed as they recounted stories of their past.

Shikamaru was really a lot more interesting than Naruto had ever imagined. She'd always found him to be a little _too_ laid back, and maybe even a little dull. But that wasn't true at all. The Nara heir was so much more of a better person that Naruto had ever imagined. He was surprisingly sweet, and kind, and generous, and intelligent. He was… well he was just the best friend Naruto could ever had hoped for. She has only been living with him for two months now, but she couldn't imagine her life without him. Naruto let out a little giggle as she remembered Shikamaru's hair plastered to his forehead as he slept. He looked really _really_ cute with his hair down.

"What are you thinking about Dobe?" Sasuke asked, interrupting her musing.

"I'm just thinking about how hard I'm going to kick your ass during our next spar."

Sasuke scoffed, a light smirk gracing his pale features. He always preferred Naruto to the rest of the girls in the academy; she was the only one, bar the odd Hyuga girl, who didn't completely fangirl over him. It was oddly refreshing. Instead of being in love with him, she declared him her eternal rival, and did everything she possibly could to get strong enough to surpass him. The most amazing part of it all, was that it was working. Somehow, Naruto was able to get much more powerful within the last few months since they made genin. She was finally shaping up to be a worthy rival, and maybe even a worthy friend. After all, she was _much_ more tolerable than Sakura.

Speaking of the pink-haired genin, she squealed as she watched Sasuke let out a little smirk. She payed no mind that the smirk was for Naruto and not for her. After all, Naruto was practically a boy! She ate too much ramen and wore that hideous orange jumpsuit. She would never even dream about being a contestant for Sasuke's affections. Naruto was annoying. Everybody agreed. Sasuke would never in a million years be interested in such a girl; heck, Sakura would be surprised if a boy _ever_ showed her any interest.

Shikamaru, Sasuke, Kiba, and several other boys, including a murderous red head, all sneezed at once.

Anyways, Sakura knew that soon enough, Sasuke would fall madly in love with her. They would be going on so many missions together, and spending all this time in close proximity, their love was just bound to occur.

When Kakashi arrived at the training field, he was welcome to an odd sight. Naruto was sighing and giggling to herself, Sasuke was smirking, and Sakura was squealing in delight. Kakashi just sweat-dropped at the sight: _My cute little ducklings are so strange._

With a flourish of leaves, the one-eyed jonin appeared before his students. Throwing a few papers onto the ground in front of them, he declared, "I have signed you guys up for the Chunin exams. They start tomorrow morning at the academy. Don't be late. Anyways, it's your choice whether or not you want to show up. You're dismissed." And with that short announcement, the famous copy-nin once more disappeared from sight.

Both Naruto and Sasuke practically leapt for their papers, scanning the information contained with unrestrained excitement. Sakura reached for hers much more tentatively, fear prevalent in her eyes. "Um, guys? Are we really going to do this? I mean, we've only been a team for a few months, and we've only really been on one actual mission."

Sasuke and Naruto both shot her a look of shock. "Are you kidding Sakura? This is the best opportunity ever! We can _finally_ show everyone why we are the best!"

Sasuke just grunted, "Do whatever you want. But I'm going to be at the academy first thing tomorrow."

Naruto nodded, "Same here."

Sakura just sighed, resigned to her fate as the tag-along to her teammates insane and deadly whims.

Naruto grinned once more as she re-read the paper. Suddenly, she shot up from her spot. She had to tell Shikamaru!

* * *

Asuma knew his team probably wasn't the strongest one around. They sure as hell weren't the most motivated either. But strategically: there was no match. Despite this, the jonin just stared at his students, wondering for the thousandth time today why he decided to sign up his genin for the chunin exams. But Asuma knew the answer: it was for Shikamaru.

Now Asuma knew his genin were a good team; strong, resourceful, and a frankly devastating future capture and interrogation squad. Keyword being: _future_. For now, Choji was just too unmotivated. He wasn't willing to ever put in the work needed to be the strong fighter Asuma knew he would eventually be. Ino on the other had was very motivated… in all the wrong areas. She was more concerned about her looks and precious Sasuke-kun, them she was about being a ninja. But Shikamaru… that boy was something different all together. Now he was just as lazy as always, pushing his share of the work onto Choji or Ino as much as possible. He would complain about any and every mission that he was given, calling it troublesome instead. Yet despite his general lack of ambition, Asuma has seen a drastic increase in his strength. When they first became genin, Choji was easily able to beat Shikamaru in a taijutsu spar. Now, the Nara was winning more often than not. He was able to run drills for extended periods of times, and even his chakra control improved. When playing shogi, he started to use odd and seemingly random moves and counterattacks, which is a drastic change from his previous methodical approach of playing. Slowly, Shikamaru was becoming a shinobi to fear.

But he was still lazy. Devastatingly so. Asuma signed his students up for the chunin exams for three main reasons: 1) To force Shikamaru into a position where he will have to display all of his strengths, because Asuma knew for sure that the Nara was hiding some, 2) To scare Shikamaru into taking his life and training more seriously by putting him and his comrades in life-threatening situations, and 3) To show Choji and Ino just how far ahead Shikamaru was in comparison to them.

Asuma thought of all this as he watched the genin run through simple katas. "Ok, that's enough for today". Before the sentence was even over, all three plopped onto the ground. Ino in exhaustion, Choji in hunger, and Shikamaru in pure laziness. _This is not good._

"I have signed you up for the chunin exams." He announced, passing the papers.

Shikamaru just lifted an eyebrow, "Why?"

Asuma sighed, he knew the Nara was going to find something off about it. Shikamaru was far from unobservant, he has seen the same things Asuma did. He knows, without a doubt, that his team isn't ready for this exam. "All of the other rookie teams signed up, I couldn't be the only one left out." Asuma carefully left out the fact that he was the first of the rookie teams to volunteer his team for the exams.

"You mean Sasuke is going to be there?!" Ino exclaimed, stars practically shining in her eyes.

Asuma let out another sigh. He really needed to get her out of this fangirling stage. But until then, he'll happily use it to his advantage. "Yes. Yes, he will."

Shikamaru hummed, that meant that Naruto would be there as well. This prospect just got a lot more interesting.

"Anyways, you can only take the exam as a team. That means you must all show up together to the academy first thing tomorrow."

"Understood sensei!" Ino affirmed.

Shikamaru winced in pain. Really, he spent way too much time around troublesome, loud blond girls. As if his thought had summoned her, Naruto ran into the field in excitement.

Shikamaru, almost sensing her presence, sat up from his position, "Naruto? What are you doing here?"

Naruto blushed, realizing she ran in when the entire team was still gathered. Usually by this time Shikamaru was alone watching the clouds. Scratching the back of her head awkwardly, she confessed, "Uh, I thought you guys were already done training for the day… My bad."

Asuma chuckled at her awkwardness. He knew the two of them were friends of sorts, but he didn't realize that they were close enough to the point where the Uzumaki would come looking for his lazy student. He was proud of Shikamaru: thirteen years old and already with a pretty blond girlfriend. He wondered if Shikaku knew about his son's relationship with the blond demon container. "Don't worry Naruto, we were just finished. You guys are dismissed."

Ino just looked confused, "Who were you here for?"

Naruto started stammering, "Here for? Here… oh I'm here for no one! I'm uh… I'm just… looking for my kunai! Yeah, I lost them somewhere, and I just can't find them. So yeah, lost kunai, it's practically a pandemic."

Asuma just continued to chuckle, his student's friend was just too cute!

Ino continued her questioning, confusion evident in her tone, "Then wouldn't your kunai be in your training field?"

Naruto snapped her fingers in agreement, "That's probably why I can't find them! I didn't even check in my own training field! Wow, you're really smart Ino."

Ino stared at her fellow blond, "You really are an idiot, aren't you Naruto?"

Naruto laughed awkwardly, "Well yeah, so I'm just going to go look for my kunai now. Uh… bye!"

Shikamaru let out a smile, a chuckle slipping out unknowingly, "Come on Naru, I'll help you look for your kunai."

Naruto grinned at him, a smile so blinding Asuma wondered whether the girl kept lightbulbs hidden behind her teeth. "Awesome! Thanks, Shika! Let's go!"

As the two genin left the clearing, the rest of Team 10 just watched. "Since when have they been all buddy-buddy?" Ino asked.

Choji grunted, "We've all been friends since the academy. But it's unlike Shikamaru to volunteer to help anyone with anything."

Asuma laughed as he lit a cigarette, "Hell, if I were Shikamaru, I'd prefer helping a cute blond over watching the clouds any day."

Ino and Choji quickly turned to stare at their sensei, "CUTE BLOND?" Ino screeched.

Asuma just looked confused, "Well, yeah. Naruto is cute, and she's blond."

"Yeah right, like anyone will ever find Naruto attractive."

Choji fidgeted slight in his seat, "I don't know... Naruto is sort of pretty."

"You too Choji!" Ino screeched.

"It's not me! Kiba is the one with a crush on her!"

"He has a crush on Naruto?" Ino asked, always desperate for gossip.

Choji nodded, "It's true. He was always the one to invite Naruto to hang out with us."

"Huh... I had no idea." Ino admitted, "Maybe I should set them up."

"No!" Asuma exclaimed. Realizing that he practically screamed, he chuckled nervously, "It's just not a good idea. Maybe she already has a boyfriend? A cute girl like her is bound to have more than one guy crushing on her."

"She's not cute! She's such a tomboy!"

Asuma laughed once more at his student's obliviousness, "Yeah, for now maybe."

"What's that supposed to mean sensei?"

"What it means, is that in a few years, Shikamaru is going to be the envy of all your comrades; mark my words kids."

* * *

"So where are we really going?" Shikamaru asked as the two friends walked side-by-side.

"Ichiraku of course! Where else?" Naruto answered.

Shikamaru chuckled, "Of course… I'm assuming you want to celebrate getting into the chunin exams."

"How did you know I made it into the exams?"

Shikamaru just smiled, before showing her his paper, "Because I did too."

Naruto cheered, stopping to hug her friend, "YAY! We'll both be there. It's going to be awesome!"

Still hugging his excitable friend, Shikamaru called, "Hey Naruto?"

"Yeah?"

"Why is there a box with giant holes-for-eyes following us?"

"Konohamaru! I know you're in there! Rocks aren't square!" Naruto called out, annoyance seeping into her voice. She released the Nara from her hold, much to both their dismay, before situating her hands on her hips.

Smoke covered the area, as three kids popped out of their badly hidden box, "Wow Boss! You saw right through our disguise!"

A girl with odd orange hair jumped out, "With an adult sexiness, I'm Moegi!"

Next, a boy coughing from the smoke, wearing overly large glasses came out, "I am the math genius, and I love factoring: Udon!"

Last, but unfortunately not least, came Konohamaru, "The most brilliant ninja in the leaf village, I am Konohamaru!"

"And together we make: The Konohamaru Corps!" The three cried in tandem.

The two genin sweat dropped as they watched such a ridiculous and obnoxious display, "Okaaaay. But what are you guys doing here, and why are you following me?" Naruto asked.

"So cold… So Boss, do you have time? You promised you'll play ninja with us!" Moegi questioned.

"Sorry kids, I'm busy." Naruto responded, gesturing to the Nara beside her, "We have to train."

"Hey Boss, who's he?" Konohamaru asked, his eyes widening, "Hey! Is he your…. You know?"

Naruto blushed at the insinuation, while Shikamaru just groaned, "Why does everybody always think that?"

Naruto stammered, "No no no. He's my good friend."

"Is he taking advantage of you onne-san?" Konohamaru cried out.

Naruto shook her head rapidly, her blush spreading, "No nothing like that. We're just friends, promise. This is Nara Shikamaru, he's the smartest guy in the world, and probably the strongest genin in my class."

Konohamaru looked the Nara up and down, "You're strong huh? Well if boss says your strong, then you must be super powerful! Want to play ninja with us?"

Shikamaru raised his eyebrow, "A ninja playing ninja?"

Naruto chuckled nervously as she scratched the back of her head, "It's a fun game, promise."

"We'll be taking that as a yes. Try to catch me!" And with that, Konohamaru and his friends sped off.

"No Konohamaru! That was not a yes!" Naruto yelled out, before begrudgingly following the boy.

Shikamaru laughed as he ran alongside Naruto, "Only you would have a kid in the academy looking up to you in worship."

Naruto giggled, "What can I say? I'm lovable!"

Shikamaru smiled, "That you are, Naru… That you are."

They were soon able to catch up to Konohamaru, only to find him being held up by his shirt by some make-up wearing foreign ninja. "That hurt you little punk." The boy said menacingly.

Beside the long-haired ninja, was another Suna shinobi; a girl with light brown hair and a large stick stuck to her back, "Come on Kankuro. It's not worth it." The girl told her fellow comrade.

"I'm just going to show the brat why you don't mess with Suna-nin."

"Hey! Put him down you jerk!" Naruto screeched at him.

Shikamaru sighed, stuffing his hands into his pockets, before drawling out nonchalantly, "After all, it's considered treason for you to hit the Hokage's grandson."

The Suna girl blushed a bit as she looked at the Nara: _He's pretty cute._

Kankuro immediately dropped young Konohamaru, "That brat is the Hokage's grandson? You leaf ninja are just pathetic."

"Yeah? Well we'll see just who's pathetic when I kick your ass during the chunin exams!" Naruto cried, using all of her restraint to not attack the boy in front of her. Shikamaru taught her about diplomacy a while ago, and just because she knew she had to use it with these foreign shinobi, did not mean that she had to be happy about it.

"You're going to be part of the chunin exams too, huh?" The girl asked shyly, blushing slightly as Shikamaru caught her sight.

"Yes, we are." Naruto answered forcefully, catching the girl staring at the Nara.

"Oh, well then we'll see you there. I'm Temari, and this is my brother Kankuro." The girl introduced, still only looking at Shikamaru.

"And I'm assuming that red-head standing at the tree over there is with you as well?" Shikamaru asked, slouching in laziness.

"Kankuro. Temari. You're wasting my time." The red-haired boy said, disappearing in sand only to reappear next to his siblings.

"Ga-Gaara!" Temari exclaimed.

Gaara turned to the leaf shinobi, "I'm sorry for the actions of my siblings."

Turning to leave, Naruto could only call out, "Wait!" There was something familiar about the pale insomniac. She knew for a fact that they had never met, and she also knew there was no way he should feel so familiar to her. But he did. It was almost… almost like he was kin.

"Who are you?" She asked.

Gaara tilted his head, "I am Gaara of the Desert, and who are you two?"

"Uzumaki Naruto."

When Shikamaru said nothing, Temari spoke, "And who are you?"

Naruto bristled in slight anger as Shikamaru responded, "Nara Shikamaru."

Gaara hummed, "Uzumaki Naruto and Nara Shikamaru, huh? Mother will look forward to devouring your blood."

With that threatening statement, Gaara and his siblings walked away, leaving the citizens of the leaf village behind.

"Naruto. I need you to do me a favor."

"What is it?" Naruto asked Shikamaru, never hearing the boy sounding as serious as he did now.

"I need you to promise me first Naru. If our friendship means anything to you, promise me."

Naruto was ready to do anything for the boy she cared about more than anyone, "I promise Shikamaru. What do you want me to do?"

"Stay away from Gaara."

"Shika-"

"You promised Naru."

"I know. But you have to promise to stay away from Temari."

Shikamaru smiled, "I promise."


	8. Alliances and Fate

Shikamaru did _not_ like Gaara. The red-haired menace from Suna might have been polite, but Shikamaru saw the way he stared at them; almost like he wanted nothing more than to paint the walls with their blood. Killer intent ran rampant when he was near the boy, and even the boy's own siblings looked terrified of him. All of that cemented one fact in Shikamaru's mind: Naruto was not to go near that boy, for any reason.

He thought of all this as he and Naruto concluded their lunch at Ichiraku. "Hey Shika?"

"Yeah Naru?"

"Do you think the chunin exams would be hard? Like, do you think I might actually win?"

"It doesn't matter if you win or lose; all it matters is if you showcase your talent. The point of the exams is to show everyone why you are ready to be chunin. Just remember the stuff I taught you, and you'll do fine."

"Well, you're certainly going to make chunin."

"I'm not so sure about that."

"Why not?"

"I'm too unmotivated. I don't even want to take these exams in the first place."

"Then why are you?"

"The exams can only be done as a team. That means that either the entire team takes it together, or none of them take it. I couldn't do that to Choji and Ino. So now I'm forced to take part in this troublesome exam."

"Wait really? Kakashi-sensei didn't tell us any of this!"

Shikamaru sighed, "He probably didn't want Sakura to feel pressured to sign up."

Naruto scoffed, "Oh please. Sakura would sign up for a suicide mission if it meant being close to her precious _Sasuke-kun!_ "

The Nara shrugged as they continued their walk home, "Well Kakashi had to try. Sakura probably isn't ready to take these exams. Neither is Ino to be completely honest. Choji and I will have to do all that we can to make sure Ino turns out ok. You and Sasuke will have to do the same for Sakura."

Naruto groaned in frustration, "Ugh… Why can't Sakura just grow up already! She's a _ninja_. She can't afford to be such a fangirl if it means laying her training to the way-side! Plus, Sasuke is a Teme! Why do girls even like him!?"

Shikamaru chuckled, "Unfortunately most girls don't think like you do. It's fine to have a crush, so long as it doesn't impeach on your training."

Naruto smirked, "Huh. So it's ok to have a crush?"

Shikamaru looked at the orange-loving blond cautiously, "I guess?"

"So does that mean you have a crush on somebody Shika?" Naruto, a mischievous smirk stretching across her face.

"Oh no. I'm not gonna fall for this."

"Oh come on Shika! Just answer me!"

"Nope."

"Shika!"

* * *

When the two genin reached home, their faces were red with laughter. They approached the foyer, only to find Shikaku and Yoshino dressed up in traditional garments. "What's the occasion?" Shikamaru asked.

"We were all invited to have tea with the Hyuga's." Yoshino answered with a pleasant smile.

"All?" Naruto questioned tentatively.

"Yes. All four of us. That includes you Naruto."

"But, I don't exactly have anything to wear." Naruto confessed, embarrassed of the situation.

Yoshino grinned, "That's why I got you something! Come on, I put it in your room. I'll help you put it on!"

As Yoshino dragged the nervous blond into her room, Naruto turned to look at Shikamaru in fear, "Help!" She mouthed.

Shikamaru just laughed and proceeded to ignore the girl. He turned to look at his father, who was seated in front of a shogi board. "Would you like to play a game? You can dress much faster than the girls."

Shikamaru shrugged, "Sure."

The elder Nara began, moving his pawn up a space, "I heard that both you and Naruto are taking place in the chunin exams tomorrow."

"We are." Shikamaru affirmed, moving up his pawn in retaliation.

"Are you nervous?"

"Not at all."

"Hmm. That's good."

"Father, did you speak to Hokage-sama yet?'

"Yes, I was able to speak to him yesterday. The conversation was troublesome."

"I apologize for inconveniencing you."

Shikaku grunted as he moved his rook away from the obvious trap, "Think nothing of it son."

"Is the plan still continuing as predicted?"

"It is. However, he had a few concerns."

"Any concerns that we had not already foreseen and planned for?"

"None as of yet. Yet beware son, it is impossible for us to have planned for every possible event."

"Improbable father; never impossible."

Shikaku smirked as his son fell for his carefully concealed trap, "You are correct my boy. We have already played our move, now we wait."

"Any time spent idle is time wasted in the game of politics."

Shikaku snorted, "If only those outside our clan could hear us now."

The younger scoffed, "This is why those outside our clans are fools. We are _Nara's._ We are one of the biggest and most powerful clans in Konoha. We have no kekkei genkai, no any special dojitsu. We have no familial ties to our founding clans, nor any particular technique that makes us unique. What we _do_ have is a clear grasp on shadow manipulation; yet every village has a clan that specializes in capture, so that's not why we're known. People fear the Nara's for one reason only; our strategies. Our plans are unparalleled to even the smartest minds in the world, and it doesn't just end in the battle field. The reason we were to rise to such political power? The Nara's are the founders of political manipulation. There is no one that can beat us in our own game, especially not some highbrowed council."

Shikaku smiled, "That is quite the deduction you have discovered. Yet we must remember the importance of being humble. The Nara Clan has not thrived for this long being arrogant."

"No, we shall leave that to our lovely hosts this evening."

"I need not tell you the importance of this gathering tonight."

"No father. I thank you for setting this in motion."

"It was my pleasure. All I had to do was mention to Hiashi passingly that Naruto was currently residing with us, and he was quick to extend the invitation. I believe he is much too curious on our over-all family dynamic now that the nine-tailed container is staying with us."

"Is he the only one aware of our living situation?"

"The Hyuga's and the Hokage are the only ones who know, just as you requested."

"Perfect."

"I should warn you, Hiashi is a smart man, it would be detrimental if you were to underestimate him."

"I will do no such thing father. If everything goes to plan, we will be able to activate the next step shortly."

"That is, of course, only if the Hokage reacts as expected."

"He will. And when he does, it will be with the Hyuga family firmly on our side."

"I hope so my boy. You are playing a very dangerous game, I only hope you are ready for the ramification this will bring."

"Nobody is ever fully prepared for ramifications. However, I believe in my ability to strategize. I know I have improved greatly in the last few months since I have made genin."

"And how do you know this?"

"Because. For the first time ever, I have beaten you in a game. Checkmate."

* * *

Naruto was very nervous. As she walked with the Nara family towards the Hyuga family, she kept tugging at her traditional pale-orange kimono self-consciously. She had never been to a formal gathering before, heck- she's never worn a kimono before! Plus, she was coming as part of the Nara's, so whatever she did would affect them. If she said something wrong, or even looked wrong, the up-tight Hyuga's would surely blame the innocent Nara's. She liked the family too much to accidently say something stupid… she hoped.

But she knew herself, and without meaning too, she's going to blurt out something that would surely embarrass the Nara's. And then they're going to hate her forever, and ask her to move out, and then she'll be forced to live in the streets again! But even worse than all that… Shikamaru won't like her anymore. Naruto didn't know if she could live with that.

No matter how kind the Nara's were to her, no matter how amazing Shikamaru was, Naruto knew what she was: a street rat. She even looked the part, and despite the obviously expensive and beautiful kimono she was wearing, she still knew she looked nowhere close to how elegant Yoshino looked. Or how sophisticated and put together Shikaku looked. And especially not even close to how breathtakingly handsome Shikamaru looked all dressed-up. When Shikamaru first emerged from his room, his outfit all in dark colors that complement him perfectly, and his hair for once not tied up; instead slicked back elegantly to highlight his astonishingly high cheekbones, Naruto had to catch her breath. She stared at him for so long and so intently, she was sure that he noticed; he notices everything after all. It didn't help that she drooled for sure; how could she not? He was gorgeous! And Naruto… well she was just a tomboy street rat playing dress-up.

With Naruto trudging her feet along, her and Shikamaru lagged behind his parents, who gave them space to talk.

"Naruto stop." Shikamaru ordered suddenly, coming to a screeching halt.

Naruto immediately comes to stop as Shikamaru puts his hands on her shoulders to force her to look at him. "Naru. You look beautiful. You _are_ beautiful. Like, so stunningly gorgeous sometimes I really can't even fathom how I've never noticed before. And you're smart, smarter than you think. You're not going to do anything to embarrass us. It's impossible for you too. My family is crazy about you, and nothing, _nothing_ , will ever change that, ok? So please relax."

Naruto blushed so hard that she turned completely red, "How did… uh how did you know what I was thinking?"

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow-and really that should not have been as attractive as it was- and answered, "You have been fidgeting non-stop with the hem of your kimono, while refusing to look up from the pavement, or engage in conversation; which is a big pointer to something being wrong, by the way."

"You… you really think I'm beautiful?"

Shikamaru sighed, "More beautiful than you'll ever know. Which is troublesome, oh so extremely troublesome."

Naruto tilted her head in confusion, her blush still prevalent, "Um… why would that be troublesome?"

Shikamaru threw an arm over her shoulder, "Because when people start realizing it, I'll just have to fight that much harder to keep them away from you. I don't exactly want to share my best friend and roommate. I'm going to be a busy man in the future, which is _really_ troublesome."

"Uh… sorry?" Naruto apologized, not quite understanding what her lazy friend was saying. Not that he told her the entire truth, but that was beside the point.

Shikamaru chuckled, having foreseen Naruto's confusion, "Don't worry about it Naru, it'll be my problem to handle."

* * *

The last time both Shikamaru and Naruto were here, which was yesterday, they painted all of the clan walls neon pink. Somehow, the Hyuga's were able to get all of the walls back to their original color, without a hint of anything being amiss. Shooting each other a look, the two genin silently agreed to never mention their involvement in yesterday's prank.

They were led by a random Hyuga into the home of the main branch family, where they took their seats in the foyer, and waited for their hosts to arrive. Immediately, a tall stoic man entered, followed by three children. "Welcome to my home, I thank you all for your presence." He greeted with a bow.

The four guests bowed in return, still seated. "We thank you graciously for this courteous invite." Shikaku answered.

The Hyuga's sat directly in front of the guests, cross-legged near the short table. "Allow me to introduce my family. This is my eldest daughter, the Heir Presumptive, Hinata."

Hinata, a quiet girl that shared an academy class with both Naruto and Shikamaru, bowed her head in greeting, a polite and pleasant smile on her face. "My second daughter, an academy student, Hanabi."

A girl quite a few years their junior, bows her head in the same manner as Hinata. Yet unlike her older sister, Hanabi did not smile, instead she kept the same stoic expression as her father. "And this is my nephew, Neji."

The last of the children was slightly older than the rest, Naruto recognized him as being the top scoring shinobi the year above them. He was tall, with long hair similar to his uncle. His expression was stoic as well, however bordering to annoyance, as if he wanted nothing more than to run away from this situation. Yet he stayed still, a small, almost unnoticeable nod given in greeting.

"It is a pleasure to make the acquittance of your lovely daughters and esteemed nephew. This is my wife Yoshino, the matriarch of the Nara Clan. My son, the Heir Apparent, Shikamaru. And my ward, Naruto Uzumaki."

Each member nodded in greeting as they were introduced. However, Hiashi's eyes widened during the greeting, "Ward? Well that is surely interesting."

Naruto tilted her head in confusion, turning slightly to look at Shikamaru. The younger Nara just looked straight ahead with a serious expression, ignoring the blond girl.

Hiashi let out a small smirk, "You truly _are_ an interesting one. However, we may speak of these boring trivialities at a different time. We are now with family, let us enjoy our tea and talk of pleasant matters."

With those words, the doors opened, and several Hyuga branch members came in to serve them all tea. Yoshino, the ever talkative one, kept up the nice conversation; conversing about how Naruto, Shikamaru, Hinata and Neji were all due to appear at the chunin exams the following day. The five children present did not speak much, instead preferring to listen to the adults. Naruto kept quiet, taking in the sight of her first family gathering. Hinata and Hanabi were ever the dutiful daughters, pouring more tea for the guests, and speaking at appropriate times. Hinata was able to keep her stuttering to a minimum due to her not having to talk as much as usual.

Neji on the other hand, was staring down the two genin in front of him. He didn't miss the earlier conversation between his uncle and the Nara; but more importantly, he knew what it meant, at least to an extent. It would do him well to befriend this Naruto, if she were important enough to warrant the full protection of the Nara's, then perhaps her fate was different than he first imagined.

* * *

A few hours later, Hiashi volunteered Hinata and Hanabi to give the girls a tour of the house, while the men sat and talked. "I will join them, Uncle." Neji announced, standing from his position.

Hiashi nodded in agreement, knowing that his nephew was perhaps interested in learning more of the blond girl that was special enough to earn the protection of the Nara Clan.

The moment the women and Neji left, Hiashi wiped the small smile off his face, and turned to look at the Nara's in suspicion, "What game are you really playing here Shikaku. I was unaware that you have taken responsibility for the girl."

Shikaku smiled as he answered, " _I_ have not taken responsibility for her. I am merely doing my part as the Clan Head, following the orders bestowed upon me by the Heir Presumptive and Elder Council."

Hiashi's eyes widened, before narrowing into slits as he stared knowingly at Shikamaru, "I see. You have done your clan justice my boy. I assume you understand the power that you currently wield?"

Shikamaru nodded, "I am aware of both my current strengths and limitations. I work to improve the former, while demolishing the latter." He sighed, taking a sip of his tea before continuing, "I am aware of my youth. I know my supposed inexperience is an unattractive quality. However, I also know that my plan makes up for both. I am not an arrogant boy looking for glory within my own clan."

"What are you then?"

Shikamaru put his cup down, placing his palms over his knees, "I am a Nara, doing what a Nara was meant to do: insuring both our clan protection, and the protection of the entirety of Konoha. We are loyal to our people, and it is our job as the village strategists to make sure we are always several steps ahead of anyone who wishes us harm."

"And just how do you suggest you do that? All you have done is align yourself with the village weapon."

"And that is your first mistake; thinking of Naruto as just a weapon. As both a container, and a loyal ninja, she is much more than just a fighting machine. And my plans extend far greater than just her."

"So, she is just a pawn to you?"

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes dangerously, "Don't presume to understand my strategy when you are yet to comprehend the game. Naruto is not the pawn, oh no. She is the queen."

Hiashi hummed, "I see. And just how do you plan to utilize your queen?"

"Other than your family, only one other person is aware of us taking all political and legal responsibility for her. Only one other knows that we are her sponsor."

"And who would that be?"

"Well the Hokage of course."

"I fail to see how this matters."

"You have known the Hokage for a long time, how do you believe he will react when he processes that one clan has full control of the pollical ramifications brought to Konoha by our resident jinchuriki?"

Hiashi smiled, "Well he would tell the council of course. The rest of the clans have to be made aware of such a change in the political power system."

"And what would their reactions be?"

"Most won't care. Everybody knows that the Nara's only look out for the best of Konoha, and many would see it as a good thing that the young girl has a family that cares for her, and a clan to sponsor her."

"Would anyone be angry that they hadn't thought to sponsor her first?"

"Not at all. The girl is the bottom of her class. Absolutely talentless. She's a troublemaker most likely to bring her sponsored clan problems, rather than achievement."

"Yet what if I could guarantee a successful presentation from her at the chunin exams? One high enough to impress even the most hard-headed of council members?"

Hiashi smiled even wider, "Well then, everybody would be wanting to align themselves with the Nara's."

"That may be true for all of the Clan head members of the council. However, I am much more concerned about a specific council member, one who has wanted control of Naruto for a long time. He may get angry, rash almost, and even make a few mistakes he wouldn't have before, maybe even fall into one of my many traps. Afterall, I think it's time to fix Konoha, starting with all of the _Roots._ "

Hiashi sputtered in surprise, "You, a genin, mean to take on Danzo?"

Shikamaru smirked, "Not any time soon, that part of the plan is still far ahead into the future. But ultimately, yes."

"And where does Naruto fit into all of this?"

"Well she certainly has enough Will of Fire to lead us, don't you think?"

"You mean to make her Hokage?"

"She's going to be Hokage regardless of my intervention. She's strong and passionate, diplomatic yet firm. She's our best choice. My job is just to make sure that when the time comes; she's ready."

Hiashi smirked, "And if you happen to make sure a certain Root isn't there when she takes the hat, then a position as a Konoha Elder is open."

"A position I have no interest in."

"I am sure, after all, you needed something to bribe me with."

"Bribe is such a crass term. I am merely showing you the pros to aligning yourself with me."

"Amazing. With one plan, you are helping a young girl attain her dream, getting rid of Konoha's biggest weed, and aligning yourself with the strongest clans in Konoha. Yet I fail to see what you have to attain from this. Your Clan doesn't get much out of it, and you personally even less so."

"I have told you before. I work for the safety and purpose of Konoha. What I attain, is making sure that this village is the best it could be, with the Hokage that it deserves."

"You truly believe in this girl?"

"I do."

"Well then, young Shikamaru, it looks like you have made your first alliance. Now what would you have me do?"

* * *

Neji was quiet as he tagged along the house tour, watching as Hinata and Hanabi showed their guests around the impressively built home. He scowled as he looked around, knowing that it was his fate to be marked, while it was their fate to live their life in all the luxury that the main branch had to offer. As he lagged in the back of the group, the interesting whiskered blond stayed back with him.

"You're Neji right?"

"I am."

"Cool! I'm Naruto! I was in the year below you at the academy."

"I am aware."

"Yeah… anyways, are you excited for the chunin exams tomorrow? I am so ready to kick butt! Then everybody will know the awesomeness of Uzumaki Naruto!"

Neji shook his head, "Why do you even try? You are the dobe of your class, you are destined to fail."

Naruto looked at the boy with wide eyes, "What?"

"It is your fate to be the dobe, just like how it is my fate to be a member of the branch clan."

Naruto bristled in anger, "Hey look here! I may have been a dobe, but ever since I have become genin I have been trying my best to overcome it!"

"Why try when you will not succeed?"

"Who says I'm not going to succeed? I've gotten much stronger, and thanks to Shikamaru a lot smarter too. Anyone can go against their fate if they try hard enough."

"Hard work is never enough. It is impossible to fight fate."

"Well if that were the case, there's no way I would have been a ninja! But I believed in myself, and I worked hard, so I got my headband, despite everyone telling me it was impossible! And if I believed in fate, I would still be homeless! But I don't; so I took a chance in Shikamaru, and now I, a clan-less friend-less home-less orphan, have a home, a bunch of friends, and a family to come home to! So don't tell me you can't fight fate, because that's just bullshit. Why do you believe in all this fate crap anyways?"

"Allow me to tell you something of our Clan's cursed seal."

* * *

Hours after the guests left, Neji approached his uncle at his office. "I apologize for disturbing you Uncle."

"It is of no matter, I was just finishing some paperwork for the Nara's. Tell me, what did you think of Naruto?"

"She is interesting. I told her of my cursed seal, yet she was still adamant that fate could always be fought. No matter what I retorted, she held strict to that belief."

"And what do you believe?"

"I am not quite sure anymore. I thought I was, but Naruto, a girl who was fated to never have a family, seems to have built herself one of her own. She fought against her fate."

"The girl is special, of that I have no doubts."

"Uncle, I have a question I must ask."

"What is it Neji?"

" _Is_ it possible to fight my fate?" Neji looked at Hiashi with a face so full of hope and sorrow, that all he could do was gesture for him to take a seat, before he recounted the true tale of the events that occurred during Hinata's third birthday.

* * *

Naruto approached Shikamaru's door slowly, praying that she didn't wake up the elder Nara's. Walking into his room, she was glad to find him still awake in bed, reading from a scroll.

"What's up Naruto?" He asked, closing the scroll and putting it down on his bedside table.

"I sort of had a question about something that was said today."

"What is it?" Shikamaru questioned, scooting over to make space for Naruto to slide in next to him.

"Well, I noticed Hiashi called Hinata his 'Heir Presumptive'. But Shikaku referred to you as 'Heir Apparent'. What does it mean?"

Shikamaru sighed before explaining, "An Heir Presumptive is the person who is _most likely_ going to become Clan Head but could still be replaced by someone more suitable in the future. In Hinata's case, that someone would be her little sister Hanabi."

"But why can Hanabi replace her? I thought only the first born could become clan head?"

"That is usually true, but Hiashi doesn't have faith Hinata would be strong enough to be clan head. He only named her Heir Presumptive so that when the time comes, his choice of Hanabi can take over the clan herself."

"But that's ridiculous! Neji told me of the cursed seal, if Hanabi becomes clan head, then poor sweet little Hinata would be branded with one!"

"That is the curse of the Hyuga clan."

"That's the first thing that's going to go when I'm Hokage."

"I look forward to it."

"But Shika, what does it mean exactly that you're Heir Apparent?"

"As Heir Apparent, I have much more political power than someone like Hinata. Within the clan. The only one with more power than me is father; yet if I have the backing of our own elder's council, even father can't go against me. As the Heir Apparent of a clan like the Nara's, I also have a certain amount of voting right in the Konoha council, despite me only being a genin. As I progress through the ranks, my influence will also increase."

Naruto's gasped, "Wow, so that makes you pretty powerful, huh?"

"I guess. Quite a few kids in our class were Heir Apparents, though not many people use, or even know about this power while they're this young."

"Good thing you're not most people, eh?"


	9. Epitome of Evil

The next morning was the one every genin looked forward to: the morning of the Chunin Exams. Well, technically it wasn't even morning, since the sun had yet to rise. But Naruto was always a morning person, _especially_ when she was excited. So, it was with a bounce in her step and a grin on her face as she skipped into Shikamaru's room.

Seeing her best friend deep asleep, Naruto couldn't help but giggle softly. His hair was plastered to his forehead, and his tongue was slightly poking out between his lips. Naruto hated to wake him, but she hated being alone even more.

"Hey Shika!", she cried, jumping into his bed, "Wake up!"

The Nara woke up with a jolt, his hand sliding underneath his pillow and pulling out a kunai before Naruto could even process the situation. "Woah, Shika. Relax it's me."

Shikamaru rubbed his eyes, "Naru?" His voice, which was deep and groggy from sleep, made Naruto's eyes widen in surprise. _Woah._

Naruto chuckled nervously, "Yeah, it's just me."

"What are you doing in my room at this hour? It's not even dawn yet." He questioned, returning his kunai to its original placement.

"I got excited." She stated simply, wondering just how paranoid the Nara must be to keep a kunai underneath his pillow.

Shikamaru groaned in almost-fond exasperation, "Well since we're already up, it won't hurt to go over a few things before the exam." Slipping out from under his covers, Naruto once more found herself taken aback with surprise. Yelping, she quickly covered her eyes, begging her blush to subside.

Naruto could practically hear as Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, "You okay there Naru?"

"Uh… I'm good, you know, the usual. Just one question: where are your clothes?"

Shikamaru blushed as he remembered that he only wore boxers to bed the previous night, it was much too hot for other layers, "Sorry about that, I sort of forgot." Quickly, he put on his pants and shirt before telling Naruto, "It's safe to look now."

Naruto tentatively drew her hands off her face, her blush still prevalent. It was totally and completely unfair: no thirteen-year-old boy could possibly look that good. Yet the proof was staring Naruto in the face, as her friend tied his hair into his usual pony-tail. Oh well, at least she was lucky enough to live with him. Perhaps she should wake him up more often.

* * *

Naruto, with a bright grin on her face, skipped down the pathway to the academy, where the first part of the Chunin Exams would be taking place. Her and Shikamaru spent the previous few hours going over theory and different battle strategies, and Naruto knew she was more ready than ever. She had a Nara on her side; there was no way she was going to fail!

She split up with her roommate about an hour ago, since he planned with his teammates to meet up at their training grounds before making their way to the academy together. As Naruto approached her old school, she saw her teammates waiting for her off to the side.

"Finally. What took you so long Dobe?" Sasuke called out.

"What do you mean? I'm right on time!" She cried.

"Hn." The Uchiha grunted. Naruto sighed, knowing that there was no way to get more words out of her emo teammate.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Sakura wasn't sure why she actually turned up for these exams. They're dangerous, they were likely to get them all killed in a plethora of nasty ways. But Sasuke wanted to attend. And where Sasuke went, she went.

Sakura knew falling in love with Sasuke wasn't smart. She knew she was liable to get her heart broken. She also knew that the love of her life didn't love her back.

She wasn't blind. She saw how the Uchiha looked at their other teammate. He was falling for the blond Uzumaki, whether he noticed it or not. Naruto was blind to all of this, of course she was. She was too busy with her head in the clouds, thinking about Kami knows what. But Sakura saw. Sakura always saw things when they were in reference to Sasuke.

There was only one thing that Sakura could do in a situation such as this. It was time for: Operation Get Naruto a Boyfriend. Now who would be a candidate for that?

Naruto, unbeknownst to the pink haired genin, was actually watching her fellow female teammate closely. A sad smile crept up to her face, before forcing her usual grin. She knew what she had to do.

* * *

The entire thing was Lee's idea. Granted, Neji should have known better than to give into one of Lee's crazy ideas, but Tenten was all for it, and the Hyuga couldn't find a reason to say no fast enough. So here he was, stuck pretending that he was weak and idiotic enough to think room 310 was on the second floor.

Yet when he saw Team 10 climb the stairs, he subtly broke away from his own team. "Shikamaru." He called out to the lazy Nara he had met the previous night.

"Neji." Shikamaru acknowledged with a nob, consequently causing his teammates to stop behind him. "You guys go on ahead without me, I just need to stop for a quick chat." Ino and Choji nodded, before climbing up to the upper floor.

"I wanted to ask you something." Neji declared.

The Nara's eyebrows rose high, finding it hard to believe that the uptight boy from the day before was actually talking to him, "What can I do for you Neji?"

"How did you convince a girl like that to _actually_ be friends with you?"

Shikamaru knew who he was referencing. There was only one girl in his life that required a question like that. But what he didn't exactly get was why Neji phrased the question in that way, "And what is that supposed to mean?"

Neji laughed, "Come on Nara, don't play coy. I know the real reason you came over last night. You're cunning, you're manipulative, you're down right the most strategically heartless ninja I had ever had the pleasure of meeting. Yet she, a girl with the purest heart, is friends with you. _How?"_

"I'm afraid you'll have to ask her yourself."

* * *

"Here. Room 310. This is it!" Sakura cried.

"That can't be right, we're only on the second floor." Sasuke muttered.

"A genjutsu then?" Sakura asked.

"Probably. It makes sense to weed out those who can't even see past such a simple trick." Naruto reasoned.

"Naruto. We were just talking about you." Shikamaru called out, his back turned to her.

"Hey Shika. What's going on?" She asked, skipping over to her roommate.

"Hello Naruto." Neji greeted.

"Oh, hey Neji. What are you guys all doing on this floor? You realize it's just a genjutsu right?"

Neji chuckled, "Of course we did. But my teammates feel it necessary to trick the competition into thinking we're weak, that way they underestimate us."

This brought her attention to the two genin she somehow missed earlier. She wasn't sure how she missed them, considering the ruckus they were making.

"OH KAMI SHIKA! IT'S THE WEIRD EYEBROW GUY!" Naruto screeched.

Shikamaru sighed as she realized that she was right, he knew meeting the green obsessed freak would come back to bite him.

"YOSH! NARU-CHAN! YOU ARE STILL FILLED WITH SO MUCH YOUTH!"

"I see you met my teammate Lee." Neji said with a smirk.

"He's your teammate? I am so sorry." Naruto apologized sincerely.

"Naruto… who the heck are these people?" Sakura questioned wearingly.

"This is Neji Hyuga. He's sort of a bastard, but nice enough. That's Lee. He's… intense. And you guys remember Shikamaru."

"AND SHIKAMARU-KUN! IT IS GREAT TO SEE YOU ONCE MORE! THE WAY YOU PROTECT YOUR GIRLFRIEND IS SO YOUTHFULL!"

Shikamaru slammed his head on the wall, he could just _see_ the rumors that will start because of this.

"Girlfriend?!" Neji and Sasuke simultaneously cried.

"Yup! Girlfriend of Shikamaru Nara. That's me!" Naruto exclaimed with a grin, grabbing Shikamaru's arm in a hug as she did so.

The Nara quickly faced her, what was she doing! "You you you…. You're actually dating him?" Neji asked.

"Yup! Mhm… 100%!" Naruto confirmed.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Sasuke asked, his voice slightly off.

"Never came up, sorry!" The Uzumaki apologized, not really looking all that sorry. She was too busy watching the hopeful sparkle that entered Sakura's eyes.

It was official: Shikamaru was going to kill his friend. That is if he made it out of this altercation alive, which, looking at the faces of the two boys standing across from him, wasn't looking very likely.

"Excuse us." Shikamaru said, pulling the blond away from all of the other ninja's and into an empty hallway.

"What… what were you thinking?" The Nara asked, his voice low and frightening.

Naruto shivered in fear, she wasn't used to the Nara being angry at her. Tears welled up in her eyes as she hurried to explain, "I'm so so sorry Shika! I _had_ too! If they knew I was single, then Lee would ask me out! You saw how he acted when we first met!"

"You would also remember that we told Lee multiple times that we weren't together, yet he didn't believe us. So what's the real reason?" He asked, his tone still angry.

"It's because of Sakura." Naruto answered, resigned to tell the truth, "She's in love with Sasuke, always has been. But… I don't know, I think she feels almost threatened by me? I think she's convinced Sasuke is in love with me or something, which is so not true! But anyways, it all translates to her hating me, and more importantly, her not trusting me. Which, as you know, could mean our death in a battlefield. Plus, I remember what you said yesterday, about Sasuke and I having to take care of Sakura, so I needed to find a way to get her head in the game. This seemed like the best way, Shika I am so sorry."

Shikamaru sighed, "Why didn't you just tell me this?"

Naruto fidgeted, "Well, I didn't really think of it until Lee's announcement. So it just all came blurting out."

"You really think this is the best way to handle it?"

Naruto nodded, "I do. Sakura is going to get herself killed if she doesn't listen or trust me during the exams. Don't worry, this will only be for the remaining of the exams, afterwards we can tell everyone the truth. Please Shikamaru?"

"Fine. But the _second_ these exams are over, we come clean, do you understand?"

"Of course. Thank you so much Shika!" Naruto exclaimed, pouncing on her best friend.

The Nara hugged her back, his mind going a million miles per hour. This plan, as idiotic as it is, might actually prove useful if executed properly. As these thoughts circled through his head, one rose to prominence: Shikamaru was definitely the epitome of evil.


	10. An Impressive Boy

Naruto really _really_ hoped that this wouldn't come back to bite her. Thinking back on it, _surely_ there could have been some other way to get Sakura's head back in the game, perhaps something that didn't include pretending to date her best friend. But Naruto doubted it, plus, what's done is done. She just hoped they could actually go along with the charade for the entirety of the Chunin Exams.

Beside her, as they climbed up the stairs to the third floor, Shikamaru walked calmly, his hands tucked in his pockets, his back slouching. For all intents and purposes, he looked positively _normal._ Uncaring. Naruto knew for a fact that Shikamaru was perhaps one of the most manipulative ninjas of their age, but this was getting ridiculous! Naruto here was practically sweating buckets, stammering incoherently for the last three minutes, yet the Nara looked as though nothing fazed him!

 _He really is amazing,_ Naruto thought. With a glint in her eye, she straightened up her posture. This was her idea, her mess, she wouldn't be the one to mess this up. Shikamaru was putting his reputation on the line for her, in more ways than one, she will not disappoint him.

They had barely set one foot into the room when a purple-clad blond shot towards their group. "Sasuke-kun! You're here!" Ino screamed, jumping and latching onto Sasuke like a leech to its prey.

Naruto withheld a giggle. Sasuke, already in a rotten mood from earlier, looked to be even more angry than usual, his generally apathetic features contorting into barely suppressed rage. "Get off of him Ino-pig!" Sakura screeched, ready to defend her love from the violent tendencies of her gregarious friend.

"Are your friends always this loud?" An emotionless Neji asked the blond and the Nara.

"Unfortunately," Shikamaru sighed, "They're always troublesome."

"Oh they're not _that_ bad," Naruto defending, waving her hand dismissively, "They're just a little… uh… _passionate_ about their interests."

"So they're fan girls?" Neji surmised, not at all surprised that Naruto would try to see the best in her former classmates.

"I hate fan girls." A girl spoke, venom coating her words. She wore her hair in two buns, standing close by to Lee and Neji.

"Uhh… who are you again?" Naruto asked nervously.

The girls eyes widened, "Oh! Sorry, I didn't introduce myself. I'm Tenten, Lee and Neji's teammate."

"Naruto Uzumaki! Future Hokage of Konoha! Nice to meet ya!" She introduced with a wide grin.

"Shikamaru." He said politely with a small nod.

Tenten blushed a bit before responding, "Nice to meet you guys."

"Oy Dobe, stop playing nice and _help me get her off_." Sasuke spat out through gritted teeth. Sakura and Ino didn't even notice, as they were still yelling at the top of their lungs.

Naruto smirked evilly, before saying innocently, "I'm sorry Teme, what did you say? I can't hear you clearly."

Before Sasuke could even begin setting his only friend on fire, Team 8 finally joined the ruckus. "Well if it isn't Naruto! Are you prepared for your defeat?" Kiba announced, walking towards them with confidence, Akamaru lounging peacefully on his head.

"You wish!" Naruto cried, "I'm going to kick your ass into the next millennium dog breath!"

"Hah! As if a dead-last like you could even make a scratch on me!"

"At least I'm not ridden with fleas!"

Tenten, who had just met these odd Genin for the first time today, couldn't help but remark, "Hey Shikamaru, your girlfriend sure is loud."

Silence.

Not a word was spoken, not a muscle was moved. Every Genin in the immediate vicinity halted their actions as they turned to stare incredulously at Tenten and Shikamaru.

The lazy Genin ignored all of this as he replied, "I'm aware."

"WHAT!?" Ino and Kiba both shrieked.

Shikamaru winced in pain, "Kami, you guys are so fucking troublesome."

Ino, finally detaching herself from Sasuke, ran up to her teammate, "You have a girlfriend!? What?! Why didn't you tell us!?"

Chōji, who had been politely quiet up till now, spoke, "Shikamaru? Is that true."

 _Perhaps this is why Asuma-sensei smokes,_ Shikamaru thought, _people's stupidity makes me itch for some type of release._

"I didn't think it was anyone's business." He shrugged, his features not betraying a hint of emotion.

"Naruto you're his friend. Did you know this?" Ino asked accusingly.

Naruto's eyes glanced around anxiously, "Well Ino… you see… the thing is…"

"Naruto's my girlfriend." Shikamaru announced with a bored drawl, tossing an arm across his favorite blonds shoulders. Naruto fought hard to keep down a blush, it wouldn't do well if everyone saw just how nervous she was with something as simple as his arm around her.

Ino turned deathly pale, "Oh Kami… This beautiful piece of information… and I never even knew about it. Even Asuma sensei knew before me…"

Kiba turned to Naruto, a sorrowful expression taking place, "Naruto… you're… you're… you're dating Shikamaru!?"

Naruto chuckled nervously, her hand reaching to scratch the back of her head, "Yeah… Sorry I didn't tell you guys."

Kiba shook his head determinedly, "No. No way are you dating this lazy bastard! You never even looked twice at him during the academy!"

"What's that supposed to mean? I hung out with you, Chōji and Shika all the time when we were in Iruka-sensei's class." Naruto asked, her voice laced with confusion.

"Yeah sure, but you never really spent time with Nara. He was too busy staring up at the clouds to show you the time of day." Kiba explained unkindly.

Naruto crossed her arms in irritation, "So what are you saying? That I'm not good enough for Shikamaru?"

"What?! No! It's the opposite in fact! It doesn't make any sense why you would be with the laziest guy on the Earth when you could have anyone else!" Kiba exclaimed.

Before Naruto could kill the boy, Chōji interjected, "It's true Naruto. I mean, you were closer to us two than you ever were to Shikamaru. Hell, it would make way more sense if you started dating Kiba."

Kiba looked strangely proud at that fact. Shikamaru, while determined to let his best friend handle this, couldn't help but tighten his hold on the blond. He was really not liking Kiba right about now. Naruto, feeling this, couldn't help but blush.

"Yeah well, things change. And frankly, you guys obviously don't know Shika well enough. Yeah, he might be lazy, but he's also the single most intelligent, kind, and amazing guy I have ever met." She stated truthfully.

"We're just confused on how this all started." Ino admitted, her mind still reeling from the fact that Naruto obviously found her teammate to be so great.

"It's kind of a long story." Naruto spoke, a grimace taking place on her features.

Sasuke glared, "You _will_ explain yourself after these exams."

Naruto gulped, "Of- of course Teme!"

"Wow you guys are loud," an older ninja approached them, "I'd learn how to keep your voices down if I were you."

* * *

The Third Hokage was tired. He was tired of the job, he was tired of ninjas, he was tired of politics. For the thousandth time, he cursed his former students, well two of them at least, for having no interest in taking his hat. He was getting too old for this job.

And now this? What were the Nara's playing here? He knew, as everyone did, that the Nara family were infamous for their strategies. No one was foolish enough to go against them in a political setting, even Danzō hesitates if Shikaku gets involved. Now Sarutobi knew that the Nara's had Konohas best interests in heart, of that he had no doubt. But for the life of him, he had no clue as to why they would do this.

Hiruzen was a smart man, who had lived a long life. He knew he wasn't as smart as Shikaku, but years of experience has granted him insight to how the minds of these strategic geniuses work. They planned things years in advance, pulling a seemingly inconsequential string, only for it to have an unseen domino effect years into the future. He had learned the signs of when such occasions were happening. He had even learned to predict the outcome. But now they have gone too far.

It was one thing to give Naruto shelter for a few nights as she didn't have a home. It was another thing all together to file her as a Ward. By doing so, they have essentially claimed that Naruto is a part of the Nara clan, subject to all of their clan laws and protection. No longer was she a child of the state, untethered to the many _many_ laws which protected the various clans. The Nara Clan had even more protection than most, their intelligence and hindsight made them add more points to their clan agreement when they first joined Konoha. It was infuriating.

Now Sarutobi, as the pseudo-grandfather figure to Naruto, was happy for the young girl. This would not only protect her, but now she finally had a home. However Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, was enraged. The amount of political backlash that could come from such an act was tremendous. Everything that Naruto now did, from here on out, will be on the Nara's shoulders. Every mission, every achievement, every failure. It was the Nara's to handle.

With one swift move, the Nara's have ensured the loyalty of Konoha's greatest weapon. Hiruzen sighed, it was time to tell the council.

* * *

Hiashi Hyūga couldn't recall a time when he was this impressed. Only the day previous, he had a political meeting with the young Genin, Shikamaru Nara. Hiashi was fully planned to take advantage of the young boys inexperience, only to find himself completely outclassed by his strategic awareness.

Shikamaru proved himself to be a worthy adversary, with a plan so subtle and deceptively kind, it was sure to work. The boy, for all his youth suggests, was not at all arrogant. He knew his limitation, he was aware of his faults. Most importantly, he knew how to cover them. Hubris was not something the young boy struggles with, for it allowed him to reach out to the Hyūga clan in the first place.

So yes, Hiashi was already impressed the day before by a boy the same age as his daughter. Looking at the files the child sent over this morning, he was even more so.

The Hyūga Clan Head would be the first to admit that while he was unparalleled in terms of diplomacy, he did not have the foresight to think of consequences so far into the future. The Nara boy obviously had no such troubles. Outlined in the paperwork were various plans, contingencies, and more plans in case the first few didn't work. All leading to one future goal: Naruto as Hokage, in a world of utter peace. It was… _brilliant._

But the Heir Apparent of the Nara Clan was no fool. He didn't give Hiashi all of his plans. Hell, Hiashi wouldn't be surprised if this 100 page document was even a quarter of his plan. No, the boy gave him only the work that pertained to Hiashi's mission. Everything else was on a need to know basis. Despite his slight annoyance for not being included in all of the plans, Hiashi couldn't help but raise his respect for the boy. He certainly knew what he was doing.

The Hyūga patriarch smiled, he was glad to be on the Nara's side. Now, if Shikamaru's outline was accurate, it was almost time for him to make his move. He couldn't wait.

* * *

Shikamaru didn't trust Kabuto. No one, absolutely no one, just gave out information for no price. Especially during an exam where said information might even save their lives. The others believed that Kabuto was just being kind, a good guy they said. Shikamaru knew better. Giving out information for free like that was just… _so fucking stupid_.

So no, he didn't trust the older boy. Kabuto was much too nice, his grin too fabricated and disarming. Hell, even his glasses were worn in order to portray himself as weak. The fact that he took this test 7 times and had yet to pass just cemented the fact that this kid was not a threat. The Nara didn't buy it.

Kabuto was essentially trying to get the kids to trust him. After all, who wouldn't put their faith in a kind older boy who gave them information to help them with their exam? It was working, Shikamaru could see the others let their guards down around him. Shikamaru seemingly let his guard down too, his slouching and half-hooded eyes portraying indifference.

In another world, Shikamaru might not have cared to notice just how _fake_ Kabuto was acting. He almost got away with it. But Kabuto made a fatal mistake, he payed a little _too_ much attention to Naruto. And that, Shikamaru vowed, would be his downfall.

Ibiki, the head of Torture and Interrogations, had just begun the exam. Left and right, Shikamaru could see the children cheating. Some so blatantly obvious that they just had to get caught, others not so much. He still noticed them, and he didn't doubt for a minute that the esteemed jonin didn't notice either, but he supposed they were just being lenient. The exam began five minuted ago, and of course he had already finished. After controlling the shadows to make sure Chōji and Ino had the right answers, he did the same for Naruto. He couldn't let her fail just yet.

He thanked Kami that Naruto was quite accustomed to his manipulation of the shadows, otherwise she might have gotten herself caught. But she knew that she would never be able to answer these questions alone, so she allowed the older boy to help. This time at least.

Once he was done making sure no one he cared about will fail, he flipped over his exam and began to write.

* * *

Ibiki sometimes wondered why the fuck he employed someone as insane as Anko. The woman had just burst through his window, and ceremoniously dragged out all of the kids from the room. Then he remembered how fucking ruthless she was during interrogation, and thanked his lucky stars that the purple haired woman was on their side.

He was leaning back on the desk in the middle of the testing room, when a chunin approached him, "Um, Ibiki-San. You might wanna see this." The chunin handed the scarred man one of the exams, and left the room.

On the back of the exam, was a simple poem. Or what was disguised at the poem at least. Ibiki raised a brow incredulously. This was ANBU standard code, hiding a message in between the lines of a poem. With his super experience, Ibiki was quick to unscramble the message.

 _Possible infiltrator._

 _Gaining the trust of the jinchuriki and Uchiha._

 _Row Q Seat 18._

 _Will attempt to establish contact._

 _Will hold for further instructions._

Ibiki was impressed. _Shikamaru Nara, huh?_ Clearing his throat, Ibiki commanded, "Get me all the information we have on Kabuto Yakushi."

The ANBU Captain chuckled, the young Nara was going to be quite the interesting ninja. 13 and already fluent in ANBU secret code, he wondered who taught him that. Surely it couldn't have been Shikaku, he had zero interest in anything ANBU related, and even if he did, he wouldn't teach it to his son. At least not while he was this young. No Shikamaru must have learnt this from somewhere else. Ibiki wondered what else Shikamaru knew.

"And get me information on Shikamaru Nara."

The chunin paused, "The Genin sir?"

Ibiki grinned, a terrifying look which sent most hardened ninja's crying in fear, "Yes. I have a feeling that the young Nara would be a _wonderful_ addition to our squad."


	11. A Selfless Hero

Naruto cast a glance around the entrance of the Forest of Death, where all her peers were collected. They looked nervous, she noticed, the various Genin mulling about with anxious looks and personas of fake bravado. She wasn't doing much better, her thoughts were consistently circling; a vortex of bad ideas and worrisome fears.

Chewing her lip, she threw her gaze towards the back of the field, where Team 10 stood proud and tall. Shikamaru had surprisingly helped her during the exam portion, using his shadows to take control of her hand in order to write down the correct answers. Naruto felt her face heat up at the memory, despite the exam questions being a mere farce, Shikamaru was truly willing to risk his own chances of passing in order to help her.

Noticing her gaze upon him, Shikamaru and his team approached the group, "Are you guys ready? It's not going to be an easy five days."

"Hn," Sasuke grunted, "It's going be pathetically easy. None of these guys are a real challenge."

Shikamaru raised a brow, "Arrogant as ever I see. Whatever, just make sure you don't fail. I'd hate to see Naruto not become chunin because you were way over your head."

Naruto blushed as Sakura screeched, "Don't talk about Sasuke-kun like that!"

Sasuke ignored his pink-haired teammate, choosing to glare at the Nara instead, "I'd be more worried about making sure you pass yourself. You only barely scored higher than the Dobe during the academy."

"Ah yes, because the academy is such a _great_ indicator of skill," Shikamaru drawled sarcastically.

"Try not to die during the exam, I'd hate to have to console Naruto because you were sloppy."

"Oh I'm sure you'd hate to be her shoulder to cry on," Shikamaru rolled his eyes, "Just make sure you don't screw up in there. It's life or death."

"She may be your _girlfriend_ , but the Dobe is my teammate. I'm more than ready to protect her."

Naruto looked at her friend incredulously, " _Protect me?!_ Who the hell mentioned anything about needing someone to protect me?!"

Sasuke patted her head condescendingly, "Don't worry about it."

Naruto felt herself growing hot with anger, but before she could tell Sasuke exactly where he should shove his kunai, Choji lay a hand on her shoulder, "Please don't get angry at them Naruto, they just both care about you."

Naruto crossed her arms in annoyance, "But I'm a strong ninja too! Why are they pretending that I need someone to protect me?"  
Choji sweat-dropped, scratching the back of head nervously, "Uhh… It's a guy thing."

Naruto rolled her eyes, "Oh whatever, I'm used to those two being idiotic. Boys are weird."

Ino facepalmed, "To think, I'm actually feeling _jealous…_ of Naruto! What has the world come to?"

Sakura just glanced between the altercation between the boys and her former best friend, "Wait, I don't get it. Why are you jealous of _Naruto_?"

Ino sighed, "Honestly both you and Naruto are _so oblivious._ It would be funny if I weren't in a middle of a crisis. Here Naruto has two boys fighting over her, and I don't even have one."

"Huh?!" Naruto cried, "Fighting over me?! What are you talking about?!"

"Ugh, don't even worry about it," Ino waved her concerns away, annoyed by the turn of events.

"One piece of advice, Uchiha," Shikamaru spoke, "Avoid Sabuko no Gaara at all costs. Am I understood?"

Sasuke must have noticed the severity and worry being emitted from the Nara, for he nodded seriously, "I will."

Shikamaru threw a glance towards his fake girlfriend, "Don't die in there, ok? I still need my sparring partner."

To others, Shikamaru's comment to his 'girlfriend' might have seemed cold and unfeeling, but Naruto knew better. His posture was slack, his demeanor uncaring; but his eyes? They were filled with worry.

Naruto hugged the boy in response, whispering in his ear, "Please be ok Shika-kun."

* * *

Naruto ran as fast as she possibly could, utilizing all of her training to channel chakra into her legs. It had been four days since the beginning of the exam, and her team had yet to secure two scrolls. When they finally ran into another team, she was blasted away before she could even make her move. She had just been swallowed by a snake, and although she managed to get out of that altercation relatively unscathed, she knew her teammates were in a perilous position.

She arrived just as the strange woman from grass was extending her neck unnaturally towards Sasuke. "NO, TEME!"

The self-sacrificing blond threw her body in front of Sasuke, ready to take the hit for her arrogant teammate. Sasuke was already injured, bleeding out from multiple wounds, he was in no position to protect himself from the lady's seemingly deadly jutsu. Naruto closed her eyes in anticipation. This was the end.

"Kagemane no jutsu, success." A familiar voice said from his position hidden in the positions.

"Shika?" Naruto momentarily stumbled.

"Naruto, run." He gritted out, visibly sweating from the stress, "This is Orochimaru of the sennin, I can't hold it for much longer. GO!"

Sakura was the first to run, grabbing an injured Sasuke by the hand and pulling him to safety. The quick movement seemed to be the last straw for the Uchiha, as he fell over in pain just as he made it over to Team 10. Seeing Naruto had yet to move, Ino cried, "NARUTO, Shikamaru is risking himself here! MOVE!"

Naruto had finally snapped out of her stupor, darting behind Shikamaru. "Ino," Shikamaru called out with a pant, "Take everyone and run. Find a proctor. I'll meet up with you all in front of the tower. "

Ino nodded seriously, taking off with Sakura. Choji was right behind them, a passed-out Sasuke draped across his back.

"Naruto, why aren't you running!" Shikamaru screamed out in pain, the jutsu and strain taking it's deadly toll on his underdeveloped body.

"I'm not leaving you, idiot." Naruto spoke determinedly.

The Nara could only hold someone of Orochimaru's caliber for so long; in fact, it was a miracle that he was able to detain the sennin for that long. He would later attribute it to his overwhelming desire to protect Naruto.

"Kukukuku, how adorable. A little Nara was able to hold me for more than fifteen seconds? My my, just how powerful are you?" Orochimaru taunted, finally released from his grip, "You cost me quite the prize Nara… I was going to show you all mercy, but now you've forced my hand."

Shikamaru was panting, his entire figure slouched over in exhaustion, but still he gripped his kunai ferociously, "Bring it."

"Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto cried, her fingers making the familiar cross seal. Thousands of Naruto's popped into existence.

"Kukukuku!" Orochimaru laughed, "You think a little trick like Kage Bunshin will work against me?"

"Henge!" Naruto cried out. The thousands of clones transformed, taking the features of the members of Teams 7 and 10.

"Good luck finding us now," Naruto smirked, "Let's go before he figures it out!"

Grasping her roommates hand, she ran as fast as she could from the mayhem. As they sprinted through the forest, they heard the frustrated yell of an angry sennin.

"There's no way the proctors didn't hear that." Shikamaru determined.

Naruto nodded, "We need to find a hiding spot to rest. You're in no condition to make it to the tower."

Shikamaru hated to agree with her, he didn't want to slow them down. But he was smart, and he knew that if he kept trying to run with this level of chakra exhaustion he'd only succeed in killing himself, "We'll stop for the night."

* * *

The two were able to find a small cave hidden under copious amount of shrubbery, "This would make a good hiding spot." Shikamaru determined, unceremoniously falling over onto the cold floor.

"Shika!" Naruto called, running over to her fallen friend.

Shikamaru opened one eye, "I'm okay Naru-chan… just a _minor_ case of chakra exhaustion."

"This doesn't look like a minor case." Naruto replied candidly.

The Nara shrugged, determined to not let his roommate know just how close to death he came earlier, "I'll be fine after a good nights rest. Wake me up at dawn, okay?"

He didn't want to let Naruto stay up all night protecting his body, but he knew he was frankly useless in this condition. He would rather have an uninterrupted nights sleep, and be okay to travel the next morning, then risk Naruto's life by not recovering his chakra enough to help fight.

Naruto nodded seriously, "Leave it to me."

Shikamaru gave the blond a small smile, before allowing his exhaustion to take over, slipping into a deep slumber.

Naruto moved over to her friend, running her fingers through his hair. Shikamaru had done it again, saving her. The first time Shikamaru had saved Naruto, it was not a matter of life or death, but it was serious none the less. Since Naruto had been forcibly ejected from the Orphanage at the tender age of four, she had never learned how to read. So by the time she had started the academy, all of her fellow peers could, but she couldn't even identify a kanji. Too embarrassed and afraid to express her disability to do something so simple, Naruto had kept it to herself, struggling for months. It was Shikamaru who noticed her illiteracy, secretly bringing it up to Iruka-sensei, who had then given Naruto private reading lessons. He had never mentioned it to Naruto, but she knew it was him who helped her.

Shikamaru was always there, a silent shadow helping Naruto in the times where she truly thought she was alone. In the academy, when no one else would play with her, it was Shikamaru's flippant, uncaring attitude that allowed Naruto to approach him and his friends, making them her first actual companions. When Naruto struggled with a concept in class, Shikamaru would sigh and off handily give her the answer, pretending as if it was just a stray thought in his head rather than admit he actually wanted to assist the blond.

And then Shikamaru gave her a place to live. He claimed that he only did what any ethical person in the position would do, but Naruto knew better. No one else would go out of their way to help the jinchuriki, the village pariah. Shikamaru was oddly noble that way, doing things to secretly help Naruto, without ever admitting to it. He didn't want to be seen as a caring person, Naruto knew, after all he had a reputation of a future manipulator in the making to think of. But he did care. More than anyone.

Shikamaru was so stupidly and utterly selfless, and _no one even notices._ He bends over backwards, drawing up plan after plan to help the village, doing everything he can in order to help build a place where his future children could be happy. He had an image of a lazy, uncaring Shinobi, when in actuality Naruto knew that the intelligent boy was more realistic than anyone. She wouldn't be surprised if Shikamaru had already planned out his entire life, making a diagram of each choice and consequential effects that could possibly occur according to unforeseen events. He was amazing.

And then today, he had completely thrown away any regard for himself, placing his life in the radar of an S-ranked mad man. He had almost killed himself with exertion; she had listen to Shikaku's lectures on shadow possession enough times to understand the danger of what he did today. Yet he did it anyways, all to save her.

A few tears unwillingly fell down her cheeks, as she bent over a lay a small kiss on his lips, "Thank you for saving me Shika… you're my hero."

* * *

"The towers just ahead," Naruto noticed, "We can make it."

The next morning, Naruto had woken up Shikamaru promptly at dawn, before they made their way to the tower. It was the final day of the exam, and they only had a few hours before it ended.

The Nara winced, every cell in his body screaming in agony, "We can make it. We need to go faster."

"Shikamaru! Naruto!" They heard Ino cry just as they reached the entrance of the tower, where Neji's team was waiting as well.

"Thank Kami you're okay Naruto!" Sakura called out in relief.

"Naruto," Sasuke spoke, "You're okay."

Naruto laughed, "Of course I'm okay! I'm the future Hokage after all!"

Neji's eyebrows were raised in surprise, "You truly fought Orochimaru of the sennin?"

"Yes," Shikamaru gritted out, "We have our two scrolls. Sasuke, do you have yours?"

Sasuke shook his head, "We only have the Heavenly scroll."

Tenten exchanged glances with her teammates, before she reached into her pouch to pull out an Earth scroll. "Here, have ours. We had an extra."

"Thank you." Naruto took it without complaint. Both Shikamaru and Sasuke were injured, she wouldn't let her pride get in the way of them getting medical attention.

"What are you guys doing here anyways?" Naruto asked Lee and his team.

It was Neji who answered, "We ran into your teams being attacked by a foreign squad on the way to the tower. After helping out our fellow Konoha nin, they briefed us on what was happening. We decided to all stay together in the case that we were attacked again."

"That's kind of you," Naruto admitted, "Now, lets get this damn exam over with."

* * *

Shikamaru hated the hospital. Thankfully, he was quickly released after he threatened the medics stationed to assist him. He had a preliminary exam to get to, he wouldn't fail when he got this far already. After downing a few chakra pills, he was ready to fight. He needed to at least make it to the finals, Shikamaru mused, otherwise his political plans wouldn't work. Nobody will take a weak Genin seriously, he needed to prove to his future allies that he was a powerful ninja. The future of Konoha depended on it.


	12. ANBU Alliances

Naruto fidgeted as she glanced at Shikamaru. Her friend was putting on a brave façade; his eyes steeled in determination, his jaw squared in seriousness, his posture straight. If she didn't know any better, she would never guess that the stoic ninja beside her was most likely forced to pop several chakra pills just so that he doesn't fall over in exhaustion. He had only just been released by the medics, barely making it in time for the Hokage's speech. As they stood there waiting for the preliminary matches to begin, Naruto couldn't help but ask, "Are you okay, Shika?"

The Nara smiled softly as he lowly replied, "I'm fine Naruto, promise."

Naruto narrowed her eyes in suspicion, "You stopped an S-rank level ninja, and probably came very close to depleting your entire chakra reservoirs. How are you okay?"

Shikamaru chuckled as his gaze did not stray from where the Hokage was still speaking, "You should have more faith in our medics. I'm perfectly fine."

"Fine enough to fight?" Naruto questioned incredulously.

Shikamaru's eyes narrowed. "Fine enough to win at least."

Before Naruto could fully lecture her friend, the Hokage raised his voice, "Is there anyone who would like to withdraw?"

Silence.

Naruto poked Shikamaru forcefully in the ribs. With a slight groan, he said, "I told you Naru, _I'm fine._ Don't you trust me?"

Naruto's determined countenance wavered, "Of course I trust you Shika. I'm just worried."

He smiled, "I appreciate that."

Naruto grinned, before looking around the room, "Hey where's that older glasses guy? You know, the one with all the cards?"

Shikamaru gazed around the room. With a seemingly confused look, he replied, "Perhaps they didn't make it out of the Forest?"

"But his team is right there."

Nara shrugged, "Then I'm not sure. He could be too injured to fight."

"I hope he's okay."

"I'm sure he is."

* * *

Unbeknownst to Naruto, but certainly at the very least suspected by a plotting Shikamaru, the aforementioned Kabuto was currently being questioned by the some of the very best in interrogation.

"Who are you- really?" Ibiki asked, leaning in his chair calmly.

Kabuto's eyes widened in fear, "My name is Kabuto Yakushi. I am an orphan-"

Cutting him off, Ibiki continued, "I'm not interested in your persona. I want to know who you work for, and why you turned against Konoha."

Fixing his glasses, a nervous gesture, Kabuto trembled as he replied, "I'm not sure what you mean. I'm a regular genin hoping to get promoted!"

The interrogator scoffed, "You know what the funny part is? None of us here ever even suspected you. Not once. Yet a genin had one chance meeting with you, and came to the conclusion that you're a spy. So then I took a closer look at your file, only to notice several inconsistencies and questionable gaps. And then, low and behold, Orochimaru of the sennin attacks. So tell me- why should I believe you?"

"I really had nothing to do with this! I have served as a loyal Konoha ninja for all my life!"

"But that's not really true, is it? In fact, you don't even remember where you're from. Kabuto isn't even your real name. Konoha isn't even your real home either."

"It's been my name for as long as I remember. And Konoha will always be home."

"Yet still you betray us?"

Before Kabuto could reply, a shinobi entered into the room, "Ibiki-sama, the Hokage summoned you."

With a sigh, Ibiki stood, "Well it looks like we'll have to continue our conversation at another time. Oh, and a little warning: next time, I won't be so nice during my questioning."

* * *

Naruto narrowly avoided the urge to throttle a smirking Sasuke, "You won _one_ match, don't let it get to your head!"

"I still won, didn't I?" The Uchiha said with an arrogant tone.

"You did great Sasuke-kun!" Sakura cheered, flipping her long pink hair over one shoulder.

"So great!" Ino echoed in the same fangirling manner.

"Like super-duper amazing!"

"So amazing that we were blinded by the sheer awesomeness!"

"You're so strong Sasuke-kun!"

"You're definitely going to win the tournament!"

"Totally!"

Neji winced at the sheer volume, having somehow unluckily ended up between the two shrieking girls, "Uchiha performed admirably. However, in your so-called 'excitement', you missed an even greater performance."

The girls halted their screaming to look over at the stage, where Shikamaru was lazily slouching above a knocked-out Kin. "Kami, I hate fighting girls," He muttered as he walked back to his empty seat beside Naruto.

"Woah! Shikamaru you already won!?" Ino cried in surprise.

"Yes, he did," Naruto spoke in amazement, her gaze never straying from her roommate, "And it was glorious!"

"I thought you had chakra exhaustion," Sasuke remarked with a frown.

Shikamaru shrugged, "I did, however my reserves were slightly replenished. At least enough for a quick fight, if we spent any longer in battle I might not have made it."

"So you ended it quick," Neji correctly surmised, "That was smart."

"Of course it was! Shikamaru is a genius!" Naruto proudly stated, hugging her friend for his victory.

"Yeah yeah yeah, we get it. You're happy for your boyfriend," Kiba muttered angrily.

"Yup, that's me! Super happy for my boyfriend! Yup yup, supportive girlfriend here!" Naruto stammered nervously.

Shikamaru chuckled. Kami, Naruto was _so bad_ at lying. She was just too cute.

"What can I say? I'm just lucky enough to have such a supportive girlfriend," Shikamaru replied with a smirk, laying a small kiss on her cheek in the process.

Watching his friends face turn red with embarrassment, Shikamaru found it hard to fight the laugh that was threatening to burst out.

"You guys make a cute couple," Tenten remarked.

Before Shikamaru could reply, he was interrupted by the large build of the Head of Torture and Interrogations, "Nara, I would like a word."

Nodding, Shikamaru stood to follow him. "I'll be right back," He said to his friends as he left the room with Ibiki.

The bandaged man took him to an empty hallway, where no one could accidentally overhear them, "Who taught you ANBU code?"

Shikamaru's eyes widened in faux surprise, "I don't know what you mean."

Ibiki smirked, "I'm talking about the poem written on the back of your exam paper."

"A simple poem and no more, I assure you."

"A simple poem that led us to find a spy of Orochimaru hidden within our ranks."

"Oh? What a coincidence!" Shikamaru sarcastically drawled.

"Look kid, we both know that _someone_ had to teach you. But I digress, you did well in informing us. We currently have him apprehended and held for questioning. It seems as though he is the one who allowed the sennin to stay hidden in the forest for so long."

Shikamaru nodded, finally dropping the innocent façade, "I assumed as much when I saw Orochimaru."

"Speaking of which, I heard you were able to keep him immobile long enough for your peers to get away."

"A mere 15 seconds." Shikamaru confirmed humbly.

"15 seconds against an S-ranked ninja is a lot more than even chunin could say. And everyone got out relatively unharmed. In fact, the greatest injury was your own case of chakra exhaustion. Yet despite that, you were still able to win your match at the preliminaries. How?"

"A combination of chakra pills and the foresight to end the fight quickly."

Ibiki grinned, "You know, I happened to glance at your file after we received your message."

"Oh? And what did you learn?"

"That you were either an idiotic almost dead-last student with zero motivation, or a genius who purposely hid his skills. I had to dig up more information in order to find out which though."

"So what's your conclusion?"

"That you're a lot more interesting than I originally suspected."

"How so?"

"As the Heir Apparent of the Nara Clan, you are perhaps the only ninja of your age to already throw a ring in the political field."

"I must confess I am once more unsure as to what you are referring."

"You see, a month ago, the only _official_ clan allies the Nara had were the Yamanaka and the Akimichi. Yet I found a single, particularly curious document which outlined the alliance between the Nara and the Hyuga. A document of which I'm sure the Hokage himself hadn't yet been made aware of. And I'm sure you can guess whose signature I found sprawled on the bottom?"

"I may have an idea," Shikamaru admitted. It was only a week previous when he finally was able to convince the Head of the Hyuga Clan to sign a formal alliance with the Nara. Now this procedure was a little outdated, mostly being used in the times before the founding of Konoha. Yet Shikamaru wasn't about to take any chances about Hiashi's loyalty. So as the Heir Presumptive, he took the liberty to cosign the document, officially aligning the Hyūga Clan interests with his own.

"I'm going to be frank kid, when you become chunin, I want you to join us."

Now this surprised Shikamaru, "Join you?"

Ibiki nodded, "We need more shinobi of your intelligence and caliber. I think you would make a fine addition to the Torture and Interrogation Unit. What do you say kid?"

* * *

"Okay, so this is what you missed," Naruto recapped as Shikamaru retook his seat, "Ino and Sakura went against each other, but they ended up knocking each other out. So they're both disqualified. That weird Sand chick Temari beat Tenten, who by the way, has more weapons up her sleeve than I have ramen in the cupboards. Hinata and Neji fought too, but Neji quickly ended the fight by rendering her immobile, until she was forced to forfeit. And now we're waiting for the next match!"

Shikamaru nodded along with Uzumaki's rant, yet his mind was still preoccupied with the offer from the mercurial integrator. Shikamaru never considered joining the ANBU, it was too troublesome. Yet here the opportunity was, handed out to him on a silver platter. But what would be best for his plans?

"Up next: Naruto Uzumaki and Kiba Inuzuka!"

"YES! Come on Mutt! Get ready for me to destroy you!" Naruto cried as she leapt onto the stage.

"Don't expect me to go easy on you just because you're a girl!" Kiba spoke, arrogance coating his tone.

"Bring. It. On."

* * *

With a rage infused punch, Ibiki tore a whole in the wall as he cried, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE ESCAPED!?"

The poor shinobi who had to deal with Ibiki's anger cowered, "He was left unsupervised. He tore through his handcuffs, using medical-jutsu I believe, and walked out. No one questioned him because of his Konoha headband."

"And which, pray tell, of you _idiots_ left our prisoner unsupervised?!" He bit out angrily.

The subordinate shuffled nervously, "I'm not quite sure, sir. He must have only been unsupervised for a few seconds before-"

"Before our greatest lead on Orochimaru escaped?" Ibiki interrupted, "Find him. Now."

"Yes sir!"

"And get me Hiashi Hyuga. We have a lot to discuss."

* * *

Two more clones sprouted from either side of Kiba, and with perfect timing sent the dog-loving boy down. Cheers engulfed the stadium, people astonished by the legitimate win of one Naruto Uzumaki.

With a grin and a skip, she made her way back to her friends, "Ha! And that's how you kick ass!"

"Good job Naruto," Shikamaru said with a smile.

"Yo Naruto, where did you learn how to make solid clones like that?" Choji questioned.

Naruto chuckled nervously, "From a scroll."

Before anyone could further question the stammering blond, Shikamaru interjected, "Look, Lee is up next. Against Gaara."

"I'm worried for Lee," Naruto softly confessed to her friend.

"Me too, Naru. Me too."

* * *

Naruto clenched her fists, hot tears of anger rolling down her cheeks. Beside her stood Shikamaru, a warm hand on her shoulder.

"They say he will never be a ninja again," Naruto spoke softly.

"I know."

"Lee didn't deserve this."

"I know."

"Gaara went too far."

"I know."

"Sasuke is going to face him in a month."

"He will."

"He'll lose. Badly."

"Unfortunately, yes."

Naruto frowned, "There must be someone out there who could heal Lee."

"There is," Shikamaru assured, "And I'll help you find them. Until then, focus on your training."

The Uzumaki sighed, "Kakashi-sensei is busy training Sasuke. He assigned Ebisu to teach me instead."

"Konohamaru's perverted sensei?"

"The one and only."

"Worst comes to worst, you can train with Asuma. None of my teammates made it to the finals."

"Shouldn't he be busy training you?"

"It's not like I plan to get much training done," Shikamaru answered honestly.

"Shika, you're going against Temari. You didn't see her fight against Tenten, she's powerful."

"A wind user, right? I'll be fine. Regardless, I never wanted to take these exams in the first place."

"Shika, promise me you'll try."

"Naruto I can't-"

"Promise me Shika."

Nara sighed, "I promise."

"Good."

* * *

"So you write porn?"

Jiraiya grinned as he put away his orange-covered masterpiece, "I'm surprised you recognize my work! Aren't you a bit young?"

Naruto shrugged, "I grew up in a bad part of town. Plus, my sensei is a fan."

"Your sensei is a smart man."

"And you're a pervert who spies on women."

Jiraiya's eyebrow twitched in annoyance, this girl was going to get him killed, "Listen brat, keep your voice down."

Naruto crossed her arms, "No. You injured my teacher, and left me all alone without instruction. Either you teach me in his stead, or I let those fine females on the other side of this bush know that you've been spying on them."

Jiraiya sweat-dropped, "How about I give you a free copy of my book instead, huh?"

"Not interested."

"I'll even throw in an autographed picture."

" _Definitely_ not interested."

"I'll buy you… ramen?" He guessed, desperate to quiet the young blond.

It was a physically pained Naruto who answered, "N-n-n-no-not int-in-intr-intrests-interested."

"It sounds like you're interested."

"What I _need_ is training. So, are you going to help me or not?"

"Absolutely not brat."

"Alright then," The girl shrugged, "HEY LADIES! THIS MAN IS-"

A hand quickly darted out to stifle the blonds yelling, "Shhhhh! I'll train you, ok? Just for the love of Kami, shut up!"

Naruto grinned, "Thanks! So I just finished learning water walking, but I need some cool jutsu or something to surprise my opponent. I'm going against Neji Hyuga, he's a so called 'genius'."

Jiraiya sighed. He was certain that somehow, someway, Minato was laughing at him from the great beyond, "Have you ever heard of summoning?"

* * *

"You want to recruit young Shikamaru Nara into the Torture and Interrogation Unit?" Hiashi calmly questioned, taking a sip of his steaming tea.

"I do," Ibiki confirmed with a nod.

"Isn't he a little young to be recruited into a section of the ANBU?"

"Isn't he a little young to broker an alliance between two major clans?" Ibiki mocked.

"So that's what this is about," Hiashi clicked his tongue, "How did you find out?"

"By happenstance," Ibiki admitted, "The Nara used ANBU standard code to let me know that we had a spy in our midst. I was interested in the boy, and as I was digging up information on Shikamaru, I found this."

Reaching over and reading the document, Hiashi sighed, "Yes, it's true that we are allies."

"I'm guessing the HoKage doesn't know. It was a stroke of genius, by the way, filing the document under Shikamaru's name and not your own. It drastically reduces the chances of your alliance being discovered."

"It was Shikamaru's idea."

"Now see, that brings me to my next question. Why all the secrecy? Why broker an alliance with the Nara's through Shikamaru if you have no intention of letting anyone know about it?"

"You'll have to ask the boy yourself, after all, it was all his plan."

"And you trust the boy?"

"Undoubtedly. Shikamaru Nara, despite his youth, is an unparalleled strategic genius. You have seen it at work yourself, uncovering a spy that your own Unit missed."

"It's true the kid interests me, I haven't denied that. Yet I haven't gone to the lengths that you have."

"Shikamaru can be quite persuasive when he needs to be."

"Hiashi, we have been friends for a long time, stemming from back to our academy days. I need your complete honesty; how big of a role is this kid going to play in the future?"

The Hyūga leaned forward, "A huge one. And if I were you, I would ally myself with him as quick as humanly possible. Sometime within the next few weeks, he's going to make his move. You need to be firmly on his side when the dominos start to fall, trust me."

"I always have."

* * *

"ANBU?" Shikaku questioned.

"Yes father."

The elder Nara sighed as he leaned back into his seat, "We didn't foresee this variable."

"No, we didn't," Shikamaru admitted, "But I have been thinking about it. This may be an unexpected blessing."

Shikaku raised a brow, "How so?"

"Members of the ANBU have a lot more leeway in the shinobi force, while simultaneously they are also more protected. It could help us quite a bit in the future, if I'm not in a position to be easily manipulated or maneuvered."

"You want to take yourself off the playing field," Shikaku realized.

Shikamaru nodded, "It would be a lot easier for me to take greater risks if I'm not in a position to be used by Danzo and other members of the council. Under the Torture and Interrogation Unit, the only ones who could command me would be Ibiki and the Hokage."

"And you're okay with working under Ibiki?"

"In theory," Shikamaru mused, "But I would have to research more. It's all moot point if Ibiki's goals don't line up with our own."

"You're going to launch an investigation into the Head of Investigations? It almost seems like a suicide mission."

"Keyword being: almost."

"Just be careful."

"I always am."


End file.
